Always A Price To Pay
by DavidWynne
Summary: This is the story of that annoying fan girl who dings Rakka's halo in the thrift shop.
1. Chapter 1, Rakka and Kaori

Author's note: Haibane Renmei is the creation of ABe Yoshitoshi. I'm not sure who owns the copyright, but it certainly ain't me. This story is a fan-fiction work. Anyone can read it, free of charge. Any part of what I write can be used by other fan-fiction authors. However if you want to use this story in any other way, and in particular if you want to use this story for any commercial purposes, don't ask me, ask ABe Yoshitoshi and/or the copyright holders.

All characters in this story are either derived from Haibane Renmei or related fan fiction, or are a product of my imagination. They do not represent any real persons in any way.

Story starts below the line.

* * *

 _I'm getting old. And weary. But not too weary, yet. I've decided I had better finish off my stories. So many years, much more than I thought when I first came here. So many people. So many incidents. I have already written up about the events of Rakka's arrival and Reki's departure. And then there was Big Ugly Sam. Amazingly big and ugly, he was. So different from any other haibane. And, of course, Kaori. Started off as that annoying fan girl, progressed to nest mother of Leyton House, and then... This is the story I'm going to tell now. What happens after Ukimi returns to Kaori's house. Both amazing and incredible, how it all turned out._

 _However I just can't resist opening my accounts by repeating the story of how Kaori and Rakka first met. Right at the very start of Kaori's and Rakka's combination. I was there. I got to see it firsthand._

Reki was in the change room, trying to adjust the hems of ten raincoats. This task was just a little bit difficult, due to the fact that the raincoats were currently occupied by ten very active and squirmy children. After having his beard pulled the thrift shop guy had beaten a hasty retreat, and went back to the counter.  
"Have you picked out a nice winter coat yet?" he asked Rakka, otherwise known as the messy haired chick. She was standing in front of a row of coats looking hesitant, her hair sticking up in places.  
"Yes, this one."  
"Good, good, I'll wrap it up for you. Also it must be cold in those sandals. It's going to snow soon."  
"Thanks, huh, I've run out of pages in my booklet..."  
"Ha, no problems, it'll be a new year's gift, just a little early."  
"Ooh, thanks."  
The thrift shop guy disappeared underneath his counter, hunting for a box to put the boots in.  
"You shouldn't look so miserable. I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it will be all right" he said, as he surfaced with a suitable box.  
"I, I, no it won't, I'm a failure as a haibane."  
"Huh?"

At this point the street door opened and in walked a man and a woman, both in their mid twenties. The man was holding a coat and asked if it came in different sizes. The woman idly looked around and-  
"A little haibane!" she said, sighting Rakka as she stood at the counter, staring in space. "She's so cute!"  
And as Rakka stood there, she rushed over, reached up and dinged her halo.  
"She's for real! Look, a real haibane! Something good will happen today!"  
"Hey, knock it off, you're bothering her." said the thrift shop guy, starting to get annoyed.  
"Oh no I'm not. Right?" said the annoying fan girl. She reached out to touch the wing covers of Rakka's wings.  
Rakka had a flash back: A pair of scissors. Cut off ends of feathers, with black splotches, lying on the ground.  
"Don't touch me!" said Rakka. She turned and ran out of the shop.  
The shop keeper rushed over and looked out of the door, but Rakka was already down the street and still running. He turned back inside.  
"You shouldn't have done that!" he said to the lady. He controlled his temper and continued his business with the man.  
The man turned to the lady and complained.  
"Kaori! Why must you act like that! There is no call for it!"  
"But she was a good luck haibane!"  
"You upset her!" The man was beginning to shout.  
"That's not my fault! How was I to know she was the only grumpy haibane in Guri!"  
At this point the man paid for his purchase and stormed out of the shop. The lady followed. The door slammed shut.

The thrift shop guy moved back to his counter and looked at the coat and shoes that Rakka had selected. He wasn't pleased. He was going to make a note of this.

Reki came back out of the change room with ten raincoats in her arms, followed by ten small children.  
"Ok, we're done. At last. Phew. And" she looked around the shop, "Where's Rakka?"


	2. Chapter 2, Ukimi

The road was compacted sandstone and gravel, with a thin coating of snow. A small beetle, either very hardy or very lost, crawled along a twig, its antenna busily checking the environment. It suddenly stopped still has a series of thumps became obvious and then it scurried under a rock. A sensible walking boot thumped onto the ground where the beetle had been. The other boot thumped down just past it. The boots left footprints on the snow for another dozen steps, until the owner was forced to stop. She had come to the realisation that that it was becoming painful to walk.  
A smallish, slight woman, rugged up against the cold, made a sign of annoyance and sat down on a convenient rock at the side of the road. She took off her boot, felt with her hands along the sole of her socked encased foot, and eventually extracted a tiny sliver of something. She looked at it closely.  
"Amazing how such a tiny sliver, when positioned in exactly the right direction and place, can create a reaction totally out of proportion to its size."  
She blew on her hand and the sliver disappeared.  
She wondered if that could be a metaphor for her recent life. A tiny seed, no bigger that a dandelion, instead of going to Old Home as it should have, had made a tiny course correction and ended up at Leyton House, the place Kaori lived. And from that seed had grown the cocoon that produced Ukimi. And because of Ukimi, and the rather intense discussion she had with the Communicator, she ended up with a completely changed outlook on life. A painful process. And now she was on her way to visit Old Home, a haibane nest with over a dozen haibane, including Ukimi, her very own haibane.  
She stood up and continued walking. What other little causes in the future were waiting to change her life? Any?

At this point she rounded a bend in the road, and was almost bowled over by ten children, all with wings and halos, stampeding down the road.  
"Hey, slow down everyone!" This voice she recognised as Yasaka's, one of the older haibane. The children stopped running and started milling around, eager to see if anything exciting was going to happen.  
"It's Kaori!" This voice was Ukimi's, hurrying to catch up with the children. Following her were the twins, Jika and Kasai.

Ukimi gave Kaori a big hug.  
"Rakka's out anyway and we are all going to town to buy doughnuts, so come along with us!" said Ukimi to Kaori.  
With Jika and Kasai herding the children as if they were very active sheep, Kaori tramped back to town, with Ukimi on one side and Yasaka on the other.  
"I wasn't sure about visiting you so soon after three of your companions had left..." said Kaori.  
It was just after the Day of Flight of Big Ugly Sam and Hikari and Kana.  
"It's all right. If we sit at home all day we'll all go stir crazy" said Ukimi.  
"And we got to keep the children occupied anyway." said Yasaka.  
"What about, after we get the doughnuts, we all stop at Leyton House?" said Ukimi.

They were now in Kaori's dining room, eating doughnuts. As usual the children were running around and as usual Kasai and Jika were doing their best to keep them under control-  
"Hana! Don't knock that small table over!" said Kasai,  
"I just wanted to look at the flower vase!" said Hana,  
"Dai, there's no need to fight with Umi, everyone has their own doughnut!" said Jika, while Yasaka, Ukimi and Kaori attempted to have a nice cup of tea.

"Sorry" said Yasaka, "It's a bit chaotic with the kids..."  
"Ahh, it's kind of nice to have the place filled with people enjoying themselves." said Kaori. "How are you enjoying living at Old Home?" she said to Ukimi.  
Ukimi's face fell. "It's all right, but really I would prefer to live here, in the town itself. Everyone is very nice, but now that Kana is gone I identify more with you and Leyton House, than with Old Home." Kaori had found Ukimi's cocoon in Leyton House, and Kana had assisted at her hatching.  
Shorta, one of the children, came up and gave Ukimi a big hug. "Are there any more doughnuts?"  
"Sorry, the remaining ones are for Rakka and the House Mother." said Ukimi, patting his head.  
"Rats!" He promptly sprang up and chased after Tori.  
"Well, we certainly know where his affections lie." said Kaori.  
The other two laughed.  
"And really, if your affection is for Leyton House, then why not come back here to live?" said Kaori to Ukimi.  
"You know, I was actually, secretly, disappointed that you couldn't live here after you hatched." she continued.  
"Can I?" Ukimi clasped her hands together and gave the impression as if she was one of the children who had unexpectedly been rewired with another doughnut.  
Then her face fell again. "But what about the Communicator? Don't we have to ask permission?"  
Kaori pressed her lips together, then spoke "Hmm, I suppose we will have to. Ahh, the last time we spoke he gave me a right royal ticking off."  
"Huh?" from Ukimi.  
"What?" from Yasaka.  
There was a brief pause while the children demanded to go outside to play in the garden.  
"Sure they can." said Kaori.  
"Just put your coats back on, it's cold!" said Ukimi.

"Well," Kaori hesitated, and then decided that she really had to be honest about this.  
"The first time I met Rakka, about two years ago, I was, shall we say, amazingly insensitive. I cringe with embarrassment every time I remember it." said Kaori.  
She recounted the story.  
"Please don't remind me about this again. Anyway, there is going to be a slight amount of tension in my next meeting with the Communicator."  
Ukimi gave her a hug. "None of us are perfect".  
Yasaka held Kaori's hand, "Rakka seems to have a high regard for you, anyway."

Eventually Kaori waved good bye as the four older haibane herded up their charges, with only a minimal amount of damage to Kaori's garden, and set off for home.

Ukimi had a talk with Rakka.  
"I think you, and the others, and the children are wonderful, and I really do enjoy your friendships, but as for Old Home itself, I feel more affinity for Leyton House. And Kaori is my senpai, after all."  
"That's fine with me. You need to go where you feel the most comfortable. I will miss you company, but unlike the others..."  
Rakka was silent for a moment, and blinked her eyes a few times.  
"I can visit you anytime I want. In fact I will, if that's all right."  
"That would be great. And bring the children. Both Kaori and I enjoy their company."  
Rakka continued "But, of course, there is..."  
"The Communicator" said Ukimi. Not quite in a voice of doom, but tending towards it.  
Rakka sighed. "Let's say I initially broach the topic with him. Perhaps he will feel just a little more predisposed towards it if he hears it from me first."

Three days later a polite letter arrived at Kaori's residence, requesting the presence of Kaori and Ukimi at the temple on Sunday morning.  
There was also a note stuck on the notice board at Old Home, addressed to Ukimi, requesting the same.

"Are you feeling a little nervous" said Kaori to Ukimi. They were within sight of the temple, approaching the masked Renmei standing outside the entrance.  
"A little. Rakka is quite at ease with him, but then she's had a lot to do with him in the past." said Ukimi.  
"Also, you're only asking that because you're a lot nervous, aren't you?" she also said.  
"Straight to the point, as usual. Yes, I am." said Kaori.  
"Oh, I almost forgot, when I get to the entrance, I get to wear bracelets with bells on my wrists, and clips with bells on my wing wrists. But, apparently, you humans aren't required to do that." said Ukimi.  
"Well, I'm thankful for that!" said Kaori. Privately she wondered if this wasn't just a little bit too much. She could understand why the Renmei would like to cultivate a certain amount of formality between them and the haibane under their care, so that they were encouraged to become dependent on their fellow haibane, but still...  
"And also we are not allowed to speak until we are given permission." said Ukimi.  
"Is that so?" Kaori was beginning to feel put off by this. But it was not as if she had any leverage in the situation.  
"I will just have to be a submissive little lady and not cause too much strife." she said. There might have been a slight edge to her voice.

They were standing in front of the Communicator. He was sitting under his personal pagoda, in the middle of the temple gardens. As usual, he was wearing a mask that hid most of his face. He had already given them permission to speak, without any fuss about it.  
"Are you displeased with any of the haibane at Old House?" he asked.  
"No, actually I think they are all wonderful, both as friends and as haibane in general. I intend welcoming them to Leyton House as often as possible, and visiting them at Old Home as well."  
"And you" addressing Kaori, "Have no problem with a hoard of haibane descending upon your living area on a periodic basis?"  
"With Ukimi living in my house, I quite like the idea of her friends visiting. And I also enjoy the company of the children." Kaori was trying hard not to think of her father, giving her yet another lecture on how she ought to behave.  
"Hmm. Normally haibane only live in abandoned places that humans no longer want." said the Communicator.  
"Well, I would like to point out that Leyton House is big, and most of it is currently unused. Also Ukimi's cocoon chose to grow there, or something chose to put it there." said Kaori. She added, but silently "And why shouldn't my Ukimi live in a decent house in the town, instead of in a place which, frankly, is falling apart?"  
The Communicator looked silently at Kaori. She had the uncomfortable feeling that he might have some idea of what she was thinking.  
"Get a grip on myself. He has the final say here." she commanded herself.  
"And also, I understand that, apart from her food, I can expect no other payments from the Renmei for this." she added. She forced her voice to be level and even, as if she was discussing the price of tomatoes with the local green grocer.  
The Communicator was silent some more, then said.  
"Actually, we can be a little more generous than that, we will provide some rent money also. Our accountant in town will visit you shortly to arrange the details.  
Ukimi jumped up and clapped her hands together. "Oh, thank you, Communicator." She then stopped and looked embarrassed as such a show of delight in the temple.  
From what could be seen of his face, he appeared to smile. "That's fine."  
"Thank you" said Kaori.

Walking back to town.  
"Oh my, am I glad that is over!" said Kaori.  
"You have to admit, he isn't all that bad, don't you?" said Ukimi.  
"Maybe. I'll defer my judgement."

The morning after a truck arrived at Leyton House. It was from the Stone Mill haibane nest, driven by Mado. It also contained Rakka and Yasaka and Ukimi, and the contents of what used to be Ukimi's bedroom at Old Home.  
Ukimi hopped down to the road, ran up the front path and into Leyton House.  
"Mother Kaori! I'm home!" she called.  
Kaori appeared from inside and they exchanged hugs.  
"So I see." They both laughed.  
Kaori also hugged Yasaka, and shook hands with Rakka.  
"Hi," said Mado, "I'm from Stone Mill. I've heard of you. Only good, of course."  
They shook hands.  
"My, such flattery." said Kaori. More laughter.  
"I really don't think you needed to have worried so much about your visit to the temple." said Mado.  
"They're actually quite reasonable when it comes to such things. After all, Megumi, who was originally from Abandoned Factory, is allowed to live in one of the unused rooms in the watch house." he continued.  
It turned out that none of the other haibane had ever heard of Megumi.  
"She acts as a sort of assistant watch man, I mean watch woman." said Mado. "Anyway, let's move this stuff out."

"Rakka once said that she moved into the room where her cocoon was." said Kaori, speaking to Ukimi. "So why don't you move into my father's study. The money from the Communicator was more than ample to repair it to a decent state." In fact the money topped up her living expenses for quite a while.  
"You don't want to use your father's study yourself?" said Ukimi.  
"My main memories of it are standing there while my father chastised me for yet another act of irresponsibility. And that is where the Communicator also ticked me off. So, really, I prefer you use it."  
"I shall be happy to turn it into a place that has no connections with being told off by authority figures!" said Ukimi.  
Laughter again.

Mid-morning tea time. They were gathered at the table in Kaori's dining room, having a quiet cup of tea.  
"Well, I really must be going, as usual Stone Mill is behind in its work orders." said Mado.  
"And I must report in to work at the Tyre and Bike factory." said Yasaka.  
"And I need to go back to Old Home and then on to my afternoon work." said Rakka.  
"Pile into the truck, ladies. I'll take you as close as is practical to you destinations." said Mado.  
Everyone waved and Kaori and Ukimi were left alone at Leyton House.

They cleaned up the mess and then Kaori said  
"Just for this once, let's have lunch at a nice restaurant I know."  
As they were walking along, well rugged up against the cold, Kaori explained.  
"I used to visit this restaurant a lot, but as my money started to run out I had to learn how to shop for food and cook basic meals myself."  
"You're in luck. Hikari started to teach me how to cook, and the House Mother had continued my education. If you like, I can do most of the cooking."  
"You're in. Which means I will have to do most of the washing up." said Kaori.  
"More true confession time, before you I was a - Ahh, a spoilt brat - and would never have expected to do any such menial work. Amazing what being blessed by a haibane can do to oneself."  
"Well, madam, I will do my utmost to keep you on the straight and narrow."  
Kaori nodded. Being with Ukimi was like having a regular cold shower. Bracing, and doing her a world of good. And occasionally just a bit uncomfortable in the process.

They crossed the main plaza of the town. Their way was slowed down by a mother and her two children up front. The children were currently having a temper tantrum.  
"Humph" said Kaori. "She can't be a very good mother if that is the best she can do".  
"Mother Kaori, the children at Old Home also sometimes act like that." said Ukimi, in an even, gentle, voice.  
"Touché." said Kaori. Yes, she really will have to tone down her inner judgemental critic.

"Here we are." said Kaori. She led her haibane into the restaurant's interior and selected a table next to the wall and towards a corner. "It's best to select a table to one side, it allows us to observe as much of the room as possible."  
They sat down and Kaori caught the eye of a waitress, who came over and handed both of them a menu.  
Ukimi looked at hers in bewilderment. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she said.  
"How about I order the same for both of us." said Kaori. "Hmm, when I was in my spend thrift stage I used to order the most expensive meals, just to show off. Sometimes I didn't even enjoy the food. Nowadays I'm more economical."  
She perused the menu, and eventually said, "I think the best for both of us is the quiche. They do it quite well, and serve big helpings. You should perhaps see if you can cook something similar yourself. And, last but not least, it is reasonably priced."  
She ordered for both, and ordered two drinks. "Oh, by the way, I'm paying, of course. What the Communicator might think if this restaurant appeared on your Renmei booklets I really don't want to know."  
The two drinks arrived.  
"I allow myself a small drink of wine every week, so this is it." said Kaori.  
The clinked glasses. "Here's to a blessed life" said Kaori.  
They took a sip of their wine.  
"In your case, it's not all that long. But that's the way it is, I suppose." said Kaori.  
Ukimi reached across the table and gently held Kaori's hand. "We'll just have to make the most of it while it lasts."

Their plates arrived and there was silence as the meal was enjoyed.

"Dessert time" said Kaori. "Do you want some?"  
"Ooh, yes please." This time Ukimi played a much more active role in choosing the menu option.  
When their selection arrived Ukimi almost squealed with delight. It was a yellow cheesecake in a chocolate pastry crust, topped with fresh strawberries and berries, the whole lot helped along with lashings of fresh cream.

Five minutes later.  
"I'm not saying I would cancel my Day of Flight for this, but it could come close." said Ukimi. "This was even better than the halo cakes Hikari used to bring home from the bakery. Presumably she could have cooked this sort of dessert, but she was always busy with her job, and cooking full meals for everyone, and looking after the children."  
"Perhaps you could ask the house mother to show you how to cook something like this, and we can invite Old Home over on a regular basis every Sunday lunchtime. With or without children. In fact we could also invite some of the haibane from the other nests also. We can work out the details later." said Kaori.  
"Sounds like a good idea."  
Both ladies sat back in their chairs, and savoured some more of the wine.

"Don't noticeably turn your head, but see those two middle aged ladies at the front table?" said Kaori. "They used to be part of my social circle, but after I had to economise my lifestyle they just cut me out. At the time I was really peeved at how superficial their friendship must have been. But, of course, in my reflections after your hatching, I realised I had done exactly the same to other social friends."  
"Well, all I can say is that you keep much better company nowadays." said Ukimi.  
Kaori, blushing just a little, nodded in affirmation and then called the waitress over to pay.

They both got up turned towards the door. As they did so, Ukimi hooked her arm around Kaori's, and arm in arm they walked out of the restaurant.  
Once outside, Kaori turned to Ukimi and said, "At this rate, you're going to make me the main topic of gossip for the rest of the week!"  
"That's right!" said Ukimi, laughing, "You're going to be in the public gaze."  
"Humph. For a very small slice of the public, maybe. Not sure that I want to be."

It was now night time, Ukimi had cooked a simple meal, and Kaori had washed up afterwards.  
"Mother Kaori" said Ukimi, "One of the joys of living with a haibane is that you get to help clean their wings. Normally we do it in pairs and swap roles, but in this case..."  
"Also, it gives you the perfect excuse to touch a haibane's wings."  
"Yes, indeed." Small cringe from Kaori. "I will be delighted."  
They went up to Ukimi's room, Ukimi sat in her chair and Kaori sat on the bed. Ukimi produced a soft brush and Kaori spent the next twenty minutes methodically brushing Ukimi's wings.  
"This only needs to be done every week or so, fortunately. Ouch!"  
"Sorry, I need to get this leaf out... Right, got it." More brushing. A small feather floated to the ground.  
"Oops, a feather fell out, is that usual?"  
"I'm afraid so. We moult and regrow our feathers one by one, continuously throughout our lives, so where ever a haibane spends a lot of their time, you will find discarded feathers."

"Normally I would spend an hour or so now reading a book before going to bed" said Kaori, as they put away the brush and did a quick sweep up of fallen feathers and leaves.  
"So do I, although it appears I go to bed an hour later than you do."

They ended up in the lounge room, a small fire going in the fire place. Each was sitting in a comfy chair, with a rug over their laps, reading a book. After the fiasco that was Kaori's attempt to get a job at the library, just before finding Ukimi, she had been embarrassed about going back. But eventually she was forced to, as she had run out of books to read. Finally, Kaori put a book mark into her book, shut it and put it on the coffee table. She got up, yawned and said.  
"Bed time for me. It's nice being at home with you."  
"And it's nice being here with you."  
They kissed each other's cheeks, and Kaori went off to bed.  
Ukimi stretched out her legs, wiggled her toes, and settled into a nice comfy read for another half hour or so.  
The fire made little crackling sounds and cast a warm soft glow onto Ukimi's face has she turned the pages.

"Mid morning I start my shift as peak hour courier and mail delivery person." explained Ukimi, as they had breakfast next morning. She was well rugged up for her outdoor job.  
"And I am going to re-apply for a job as a lowly clerical assistant and probably floor sweeper at Guri's Accountants." said Kaori. "Originally I turned my nose up at this, but I really do need to top up my income from bank interest, before it all runs out." said Kaori.  
Both Kaori and Ukimi departed at the same time. Later Kaori returned, not so proud holder of a part time, half a day per week day, job as clerical assistant. She started tomorrow.  
"I'm sure this is all good for character building." she said to herself. She was currently rummaging around in one of her storage rooms on the top floor of her house, looking for sturdy and sensible work clothes. She looked out of the window, at the Wall that surrounded Guri.  
"Although any more building and I will be another Wall."  
The front door bell rang, echoing along the corridors and stair wells and reaching her, faintly but distinctly.

"Hi, I'm delivering this on behalf of the temple. It's a notice board we were commissioned to make." said Matsu. He was one of the Stone Mill haibane and an expert in anything to do with making things from wood.  
"I need to put it up somewhere where it can be reached from outside so the Renmei can put notices on it, but is protected from the weather and can't be seen from the road. You are familiar with the one at Old Home?"  
"I vaguely recall seeing it. Hmm" Kaori considered the options.  
"Could it be put just inside the front hallway? I could give a copy of the front door key to the Renmei; it's not as if I don't trust them or anything. If I really want to I can lock the door of my own room."  
"Sounds fine to me."  
He put up the notice board. Along the bottom were a row of ten hooks. Matsu produced two tags, red on one side and white on the other. One tag had Kaori's name on both sides; the other had Ukimi's.  
"When you are out, turn your tag so that the red side is facing out. When you are in, turn it to show the white side."  
He continued, "Just between you and me, this is overkill for only the two of you. Either the Communicator is getting a bit old" At this Matsu tapped his head, "Or he knows something that we don't."  
Kaori raised her eyebrows at this. "Interesting times."  
"Us at Stone Mill are watching developments at Leyton House with keen interest" said Matsu."Also I've been requested to a little meeting with the Communicator myself, tomorrow, so I can take in a spare key."  
"Are you being told off for something?" said Kaori. This, of course, was her first reaction to Matsu's news.  
"Nah" said Matsu, "The Communicator just likes to keep in touch with us, make sure we aren't going off the deep end. And I need to renew my Renmei booklet."

That evening Kaori showed Ukimi the notice board, with its ten hooks for name tags.  
"You know, I think it will be a good idea to patrol this house for new cocoons. Say every Sunday morning. We can take alternate floors so we each have an equal chance of finding one." said Kaori. Kaori's house was three stories high, with a basement and an attic, so there were plenty of rooms available.  
"Let's hope we get a few more name tags" said Ukimi.

Winter and its rain and snows came to its usual abrupt end. Spring introduced summer and its sunny light green skies and growing season back to Guri. Kaori and Ukimi adjusted to their new life together. Without quite realising it, Ukimi's even temper and forthrightness acted to smooth down the more abrasive parts of Kaori's personality, while Kaori provided a stable emotional centre and living quarters from which Ukimi could venture out in her forays into Guri society. Every haibane was present in Guri to learn some task or overcome some trail; Ukimi, just like any other new haibane, still had to find out what hers might be. Having a job and living with their fellow haibane, and in this case fellow human, was all part of the process. Ukimi practised her cooking, and every Sunday an ever changing group of haibane, from the various nests, were invited over for a meal. Even Megumi, the one living in the watch house, received her invitations in turn. At other times the Old Home haibane, Rakka and Yasaka in particular, paid regular visits. Every so often Kaori was reminded that all of this would come to an end all too soon, with a Day of Flight. She would shrug her shoulders and continue with what she was doing.

In a week early that summer, the invitations to another Sunday meal went out. Invited was a bunch from the Abandoned Factory. As well, Rakka and the twins and four of the children were due this time. Kaori and Rakka had decided some time ago that on any particular Sunday they would only invite half the Old Home group and the other half the next Sunday. Otherwise there would be no room for anyone else. There had been no new arrivals at Old Home since the twins (and Ukimi), but the children were growing up. At Rakka's hatching their ages ranged between 6 and 9. Now they were between 9 and 12. The older ones were beginning to demand that they be treated like senior haibane. A few had already transferred to other nests; Dai, who wanted to be a carpenter, had transferred to the Abandoned Factory, while Umi, a painter, had decided he would like to be at Stone Mill.

On the Saturday just before, Dai made a surprise appearance in the morning.  
"Sorry, Kaori and Ukimi, but we won't be making it tomorrow. Ame has just told us she is going for good. She's going to walk out at dusk."  
"Oh. Ok, in a few weeks time. Give my, ah" Kaori stopped and tried to work out what to say here, "My best wishes to all concerned."  
Dai ran off back to his home.  
Kaori sighed. "Always something to remind me."  
That night Kaori and Ukimi sat, side by side on two chairs, talking about nothing in particular, in a room on the third floor of Leyton House that looked westwards.  
Finally, from over the western wood's horizon, a beam of light climbed up into the sky. Slender side beams curved off from it and then arched back. It was over after a minute or two.  
"Do you look forward to your own Day of Flight?" asked Kaori.  
"I don't know. I think most haibane don't think about it at all, until the very end. I sometimes think I would like to stay on, see what happens, maybe even help others..."  
"Can you actually do that?"  
"I don't know that either. I'm not saying anything to the Communicator or anybody else until I've been here some more."  
"Ok, I won't tell anyone. Hmm, you staying on sounds tempting to me. But if you go, that is also all right." Kaori didn't have to say anything about it being sad, Ukimi knew what she was thinking.  
They hugged, and went down to their bedrooms for an early night.

Hana and Kaze (two girls who were best friends) and Shorta and Tegami (both boys) sat in a row at the dining room table. They were all begging for more of Ukimi's cheese cake with chocolate crust and fruit and fresh cream topping.  
"Please, mother Kaori, please, more cheese cake." begged Shorta.  
Kaori rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.  
"How much is left?" she asked Ukimi.  
"Hmm, enough for a small piece each and that includes the senior haibane and you."  
Rakka and the twins finished their pieces with dignity; well the twins did pick up their plates to lick them.  
The four children finished with far less decorum and then promptly scrambled to get outside and play in the warm sun.  
Kaori and Ukimi looked at the mess, and then looked at Rakka with a meaningful look.  
"Well, it looks like me and the twins are doing the dishes." she said, grabbing the twins before they could disappear outside.  
"Oh, Ok." said one.  
"This is all part of being a senior haibane." said Rakka.

After a while the children were called in and Kaori announced that they were going to have a post-dinner stroll.

One human lady, middle twenties, plus four teenage girl haibane, plus four haibane children, departed Leyton House and walked down the street. The humans they passed would smile and wave, especially to the children. Some greeted Kaori or Ukimi by name. Kaori told the twins to lead the way, where ever. The children followed, and Rakka and Kaori and Ukimi made up the rear, where they could keep an eye on things.  
"So, Ame has departed." said Kaori to Rakka.  
"Yes. I knew her reasonably well. Yasaka was good friends with her. The Factory haibane walked out with Ame to Old Home and we all watched her light show."  
Having nothing more to say, and plenty to think, they were silent and followed the twins as they led the children around the district.

"Oooohh, look, the flower shop!" This was Hana, getting excited as they passed Guri's only florist. Being Sunday, it was closed.  
"Who cares" was Shorta's and Tegami's reaction.  
"You're boys, so your opinions don't count!" was Kaze's response.  
"Children, no arguing in front of our hostesses, please." said Rakka.  
Hana had a sudden idea. "I know! Can I sleep over tonight, and tomorrow I ask the flower shop lady if I can do some part time work there?" She started to jump up and down in real excitment.  
"Then I want to sleep over too!" said Kaze.  
Rakka looked at Kaori. She didn't say anything, but her expression was clearly "What am I going to do about this?"  
Kaori and Ukimi exchanged glances. "Why not let them. Ukimi keeps saying that all good haibane need to work, and if Hana wants to start..." said Kaori.

So Hana and Kaze stayed the night. As a temporary measure, Kaori put a spare mattress onto the floor of the room next to Ukimi and provided enough bedding for the two of them. The two boys regarded the whole idea of a sleep over with a bunch of girls with disdain, and were happy to go back to Old Home.

The next morning Yoshe, the shop keeper and owner, shared her customary early morning breakfast with her husband in the house in which they lived. She then briskly strolled along the still very quiet streets to her shop. She was in her early forties and was a very attractive lady. She had fiery red hair and a fiery temper to match. But normally she kept that side of her under control.

"Oh, hello" she said approached the front door of the shop and saw she had visitors. It wasn't time for customers; she always came early to prepare for the daily early morning deliveries of cut flowers.  
Waiting for her were a youngish lady, a teenage girl haibane and two young girl haibane.  
"Sorry to interrupt you, but, as you might be aware, every good haibane needs to find work, when they are old enough. " started Kaori.  
"This is Hana" she said, placing her hand on Hana's shoulder. Hana smiled and looked embarrassed simultaneously.  
"She's getting to the age of wanting to work, and with a name like Hana (which means Flower) then naturally she wants to work in a flower shop."  
Yoshe knelt down and looked at Hana. Hana looked back, then at Kaori, then back at Yoshe. She gave the biggest smile she could managed and said  
"The house mother has taught me how to sweep and wash dishes and clean tables, and I've always loved flowers and ..." she ran out of things to say.  
Yoshe had never had any children. They didn't know why. Her maternal instincts turned on with an almost audible click.  
"Why, certainly. For a few hours a day."  
Hana clapped her hands.  
"What do I need to do?" Yoshe asked Kaori.  
"Leave it with us, the Communicator will probably make a call in a few days time." said Kaori.

Walking back to Leyton House, Kaori said to Ukimi:  
"It's a long way from Old Home to the florist and back. Do you think the Communicator might wear it and let Hana sleep over with us during the week? She could go back to Old Home on the weekends."  
"Yes, that would be nice!" said Hana.  
"Could I sleep over too?" asked Kaze.  
"Is this why the Communicator provided all of those extra hooks on the notice board?" asked Ukimi.

Once again, Kaori and Ukimi went to the temple. This time they had the company of Hana and Kaze.  
"Not so nervous this time?" asked Ukimi, when the two girls were a little in front.  
"I must admit, I feel I am in a better bargaining position now."

"Hana, every good haibane strives to return something to the community here in Guri by working at some job. So this is your choice, is it? I give you all permission to speak" said the Communicator.  
"Yes sir. Kaori and Ukimi are very nice to invite me to live at their place during the week. Huh, and Rakka also agrees." Hana got all of that out, and then stopped.  
"Kaze, you are happy to live at Leyton House also?"  
"Yes sir. Huh, I haven't decided what job I want yet. But ..." managed Kaze.  
"That's all right, there is no urgent hurry."  
"I will instruct our accountant to increase the rent and the food deliveries. He will get in contact with you as usual."  
And with that, Leyton House had two extra haibane inhabitants for the week days.  
And Yoshe was added to the rotating roster of people to invite over on Sundays.

The following day Matsu arrived just before Kaori left for her job.  
"Here's two more name tags, for Hana and Kaze." He hung them on the notice board. "Looks like the old man ain't getting senile after all, hey?"

After a few days the Communicator requested a meeting with Yoshe in one of the office rooms in the Guri Bank building. He filled her in on the details of how to pay Hana's wages directly to the Renmei account. He also said  
"I hope you understand that the Renmei's sole purpose is to ensure an eventual Day of Flight for each haibane. Working in Guri, and returning something of value to our community, is all part of the process. This Day of Flight could occur soon, or in half a decade's time. You must always keep this in mind when you are dealing with haibane." His voice was not exactly stern, more like solemn. And very definite.  
Yoshe nodded in agreement. She wasn't intimidated by him, but she did keep in mind the little fact that he was the most powerful person in Guri, and probably the one who knew the most about haibane. She took close note of what he was saying.  
"I actually once knew a haibane called Mizu. I met her at ballroom dancing some time ago, and last saw her just before her Day."  
"Hmm, wait, Mizu, Mizu..., Ahh, now I remember. Yes, that's right, so Hana will be the second haibane you will have to say goodbye to."  
"Yes" said Yoshe, with a sigh.

Hana started work a week after the first visit to the flower shop.

Two weeks afterwards this visit, Yoshe had her first invitation to the Sunday lunch. Yoshe demonstrated she was a hearty eater, and had seconds of everything, including an extra special chocolate mousse, courtesy of Ukimi.  
"My, you do eat well." said Kaori, smiling at Yoshe. "Personally I need to exercise some constraint, or otherwise it goes to my waist line." Kaori had heard that Yoshe was known to have a sharp tongue and wasn't one to be crossed.  
"Some of us just have better metabolisms." said Yoshe, smiling back. Yoshe had heard that Kaori was a bit of a social dilettante with no real substance.  
"You are very lucky." said Kaori, as she took Ukimi's arm and invited Yoshe to have a chat in the lounge room. Everyone else went outside to play.  
"Indeed I am. As is Hana in having you as her weekday house mother."  
"Actually it is more my luck that I can host beautiful Hana in my house, along with Ukimi, of course." Kaori sat in a lounge chair suitable for two, and Ukimi sat next to her. Ukimi had decided that listening very attentively was her best action for the time being.  
"Well, I would have to agree with you there, I think it is also my luck to have beautiful Hana as a part time worker." Yoshe sat in a single lounge chair opposite to two others.  
"Tell me, how you, a human, ended up hosting such lovely haibane?" added Yoshe.  
"Maybe the Wall blessed me or something. I came home one day and discovered Ukimi, just after she had hatched. The poor girl was in a sorry state, but I dare say things have been on the up for her ever since then." Kaori glanced at Ukimi, who nodded in assent.  
"I suppose dealing with Hana is no doubt your first experience with a haibane?" asked Kaori.  
"Actually, no. When I was young, just after I married, I became friends for a short period of time with a lady haibane. Would you believe I met her at ballroom dancing?"  
"Of a course I will believe you, if you say so. Ballroom dancing?"  
"Sadly she had her Day of Flight all too soon."  
"Ah" There was a moment's silence.  
"And presumably Ukimi was your first introduction to a haibane" asked Yoshe in return.  
At this point Kaori made a rapid mental calculation. On the one hand she did not want to tell her most cringe worthy experience to just anyone. On the other hand it appeared that Yoshe was going to be an important part in Hana's life. And if Ukimi and the others were to mean anything at all to her, then she had to act her utmost in their favour. This included being on good terms with all of the other humans in the lives of her haibane.  
"Hmm, actually, not quite." Kaori then gave a rapid overview of her first interaction with Rakka.  
"But I have improved since then." she ended.  
"That's... commendable." said Yoshe, after a small delay while she digested the information.  
"Hana tells me you are so good with her, so you must have had children?" said Kaori.  
Now it was Yoshe's turn to make a rapid mental calculation. On the one hand she didn't want to hand out the worse moment in her life to just anyone. On the other hand if her growing involvement with Hana was to mean anything, then she owed it to everyone concerned to be in the best of terms with Hana's seniors.  
"Sadly, no. I only ever managed to get pregnant once, not for lack of trying, and she was stillborn. If she had lived she would be about Hana's age."  
Kaori was silent as she took this in.  
"I'm sorry to hear that."  
At that, Yoshe and Kaori appeared to have run out of steam for the time being. They listened to the sounds of the children playing outside, and the yells and commands from Yasaka as she tried to keep them under a reasonable amount of control.  
"Don't climb on Kaori's apple tree!" Kaori winced at this one, but kept her quiet.  
"Kumo and Shorta, leave Hana alone!" Yoshe looked up at this one, but after listening to the further voices she decided no action was required.  
At last, Kaori turned to Ukimi with a smile. Ukimi recognised this smile has having a certain amount of mischievousness to it. She smiled back. Yoshe, observing this exchange, said to herself  
"They really do get along very well."  
"So, Ukimi, you have been listening very carefully to our little social chit-chat."  
Ukimi nodded. "Yes, madam."  
Kaori's smile broadened. "Who do you think won that little exchange?"  
Ukimi reflected for a little, and said "Kaori did, by just a little."  
"Indeed and why did Kaori come out ahead?" said Yoshe.  
"Oh, both of you were equally... adept... at holding a social discussion, but her self confession was, by its nature, just a little bit more painful to her that yours was to you."  
Kaori laughed. Yoshe raised her eyebrows, and decided she might as well laugh also.  
"If you ask Ukimi that type of question, you had better be prepared for a forthright answer." said Kaori.

They were now saying goodbye to the visitors.  
"Thank you for a most enjoyable social occasion. I hope to be invited back, and perhaps we can have round two?" said Yoshe.  
"You will definitely be invited back. I sure Ukimi will be happy to again fill the role of the judge here at Leyton House."


	3. Chapter 3, Hana and Yoshe

During the initial fortnight of Hana working at Yoshe's florist shop, she was given odd jobs like cleaning and sweeping, plus she helped take in and unpack the fresh flowers in the morning, and sort through and throw out the withered flowers in the afternoon. Finding Hana to be an eager worker, Yoshe started to extend her duties.  
They were standing at the work bench in the back room of the shop. There were some open crates of flowers on one side of the bench, plus a collection of empty vases and buckets.  
"Now, there are many ways of arranging flowers. At one exhibition we had in Guri, some artist, who was in fact a haibane, had uprooted an entire small bush, removed all the dirt from the roots, spray painted the whole thing, roots and branches and leaves, in gold paint, and hung it upside down from the ceiling. It didn't win first prize, but it was praised by the judges."  
"Needless to say, as a florist trying to sell flowers to the public, we never do anything like that. We mainly concentrate on very basic arrangements."  
Yoshe went through the crate containing bunches of roses, with their stems in water, of course. She picked a dozen red ones.  
"If you cut a flower's stem, always do so under water."  
She demonstrated by immersing the rose's stem in a bowl of water, and cutting it with a pair of scissors held under water by her other hand.  
"Then put it into the vase. At the base of the vase we have a block of Floral Foam, which holds the flower while feeding it water. We cut the stems to slightly different lengths, so that the middle rose is the highest, thus forming a nicely rounded top."  
"Now you can have a go."

Gradually, over next few weeks, Hana learnt how to make the basic flower arrangements which formed the bulk of the shop's business. On Friday afternoons, Yoshe would let her take some of the left over flower stock and try her hand at more ambitious flower arrangements.  
"A more sophisticated form of flower arrangement is known as Ikebana, living flowers. It can be complicated, but for the time being let's just say it is characterised by a triangle, with three main points."  
Yoshe constructed a little flower arrangement with three main branches, and added some extra leaves to complement the design.  
Hana stayed behind after her work period finished, busily making up designs and rearranging them. Finally  
"Yoshe! I've finally got an arrangement I think is the best!"  
She proudly placed the vase with her flowers on the bench. She took Yoshe's hand and smiled up at her.  
"Hmm, yes, it is a nice arrangement. Yoshe knelt down and gave Hana a sideways hug. Do you want to take this one home to Old Home? Being Friday, Hana went back to Old Home, with Kaze, for the weekend."  
Hana jumped up and down, "Yes please!"  
So Yoshe made up a cardboard box to hold the creation, and Hana happily took it, met up with her friend Kaze, and set off for Old Home.

"That's so pretty" said Rakka. "Let's put it in the middle of the table for everyone to admire."

"She's a quick learner, and very serious when it comes to doing her work." said Yoshe to her husband at their evening meal that night. "She's also very charming."  
Yoshe's husband was into martial arts and trained twice a week. He was happy to leave the flower arranging to his wife.  
"That's nice." he said. "Hmm, that reminds me, in a fortnight's time you have your field trip to the flower growers out on the other side of Guri. I can get a couple days of work, so I can come with you for the first farm you visit."  
"That's good news." She gave her husband a little hug.  
"Also, I'll have to ask my friend to run the shop in my absence." Her friend used to help out at the shop before she married and had kids.  
"And what about Hana?" said her husband.  
"... Perhaps I can invite her along too on our field trip? I don't think she has ever been outside of Old Home and Guri. She will enjoy looking at all of the flowers growing."  
"Fine by me, of course you will be the one looking after her."  
"I will go and ask Kaori in the first instance."

"Ahh, why not?" said Kaori. "It will certainly be an experience for the little dear."  
"Do I have to ask permission from the Communicator?" said Yoshe.  
"Well ... Frankly I get a little annoyed at the thought of having to ask him for every little thing." Kaori thought about it for a little. "Actually, we don't have to. I will ask Rakka, who is also Hana's senior, and Rakka as part of her normal update will tell the Communicator. So if he objects, he can damn well say so himself."

If the Communicator had any objections, he didn't say. When Yoshe finally broached the subject to Hana, she jumped around so much she almost fell over.  
"I can? That's great! You take me for a holiday for a half a week to flower farms? When is it?"  
At the time they were at Leyton House. Hana hugged Yoshe madly, and then rushed off to tell Kaori.

One of Guri's two buses was cautiously driven down a gravel road, around the corner and came to a small farmhouse. There was the main house building, plus assorted small sheds, plus a large barn that sheltered some livestock in one half, and farm machinery in the other half. The farm fields stretched out on all sides. The landscape was mainly gently rolling hills, so there was a vista of different coloured paddocks, depending on their crop, and scattered farm houses and barns, some plainly visible, some half hidden by hills. And to the south west was the majestic sweep of the Wall, emerging out of the haze in the distance, delineating the nearby farm region, and disappearing into the haze on the other side.  
"We're here!" said Yoshe.  
A human couple in their forties, and a teenager girl haibane, who looked about thirteen, alighted from the bus, took their luggage, and watched as the bus trundled on its way. They were only a couple of hours away from Guri the town site, a couple of hours by not very fast transport. Why have high speed roads and fast vehicles when you could travel to any location in Guri and back, twice, in a day? They weren't really all that far from their homes, but to them it felt like they were in a new country.  
"It's so strange! Being so far away. Everything looks different." said Hana, looking around with wonder.  
Yoshe and her husband smiled. They had been out here before so it was a fairly normal occurrence for them. But even so, it still felt a bit different. When one lives in a very small area, even a small change in scenery is felt.

It should be noted here that the map of Guri that is often sighted in school rooms and on the library wall is a severely truncated map. It shows the Guri town site and the local points of interest like the temple and the main gate, but it cuts off the farming districts almost entirely. In actual fact, the farming regions are about twenty times the size of the area shown on this map. The farming districts are a mixture of waterways, farms and forests, dotted with farm houses and the occasional congregation of houses that form little villages. None of these villages had more than a dozen houses. Several rivers ran through this area, being fed by ponds right next to the Walls on their upstream side, and disappearing into similar ponds on their downstream side. Industrious humans had built canals to channel the water out to their farms, and the whole district was laced by a network of roads and bridges.

A little later. They had been welcomed by the couple who owned this particular farm and shown their rooms. Yoshe and her husband had a proper bedroom, while Hana was given a room that had once been the end part of a corridor, now partitioned off and converted into a spare bedroom/store room. The farmer was showing them through one of the flower fields.  
"These are the roses. I had to pull some out and replant them, they were getting too old. I'll be doing some more replanting within the next year, so we need to discuss which varieties you want the most."  
Yoshe was walking along one of the rows, following the farmer. And Hana was holding her hand and following, occasionally skipping a few steps to keep up. The farmer stopped and knelt on the ground, pointing to the area around one of the rose plants. He was showing Hana the irrigation piping.  
"See, every rose has its own dripper. The rainfall in summer here is not enough to keep everything watered properly. We import the plastic piping from the Toga. We also have to continually apply fertilizer, which is why we also have sheep and cattle and pigs."  
Hana took a close look, and a deep breath. "It stinks!"  
"That's right," laughed Yoshe. "Beautiful flowers growing from not so beautiful manure."  
They had lunch in the farmhouse cottage. The farming couple made an effort to control themselves, but nevertheless they couldn't help smiling at the sight of those grey wings and faintly glowing halo of the haibane girl at their kitchen table.

"Hana, I now have to do some rather boring business with the farming couple. So you and my husband need to find something to do..." said Yoshe.  
"Feel free to walk around the sheds and have a look in," said one of the farmers. "There are animals, and machinery, plus a lot of junk."  
Yoshe opened her brief case and began to take out her papers.

Her husband and Hana started off walking side by side. He checked out some machinery, and let Hana sit in the cabin of some of them. He gave her a hand to get back down from a particularly high cabin. They came to a double plank bridge without hand rails that spanned a canal, two metres across and two metres down to the water.  
"Ahh that looks a bit scary" said Hana.  
"It's fine, here, hold my hand and walk right in front of me to cross it."  
They came to a barn which had a series of stalls, some with cows in them.  
Yoshe's husband, being a tall man, could look slightly down on the cows as the cows looked back at them. Hana, on the other hand, was looking up and to her the animals appeared huge. She took his hand again, and got as close as possible to him.  
"You don't have to be worried about these cows. They are in their stalls, and well fed, and they can see us. But you must remember to walk and move slowly, make no sudden movements and speak softly."  
He picked up a small bundle of hay and walked over to a cow that was watching them calmly. The cow happily took and hay and munched on it.  
"Can I try that?" said Hana.  
So he picked up some more hay and gave it to Hana. She was intimidated by the cow looking down at her, so he picked her up. Now she was able to feed the cow its yummy hay.  
"Ok, my arms are getting a little tired."  
They strolled out the other side of the barn, hand in hand and wandered over to a bench seat under a tree, looking out over one of the valleys.  
"I've never been so close to farm animals before" she said. "They look really big. And, Ahh, are those the ones that, you know, we eat as beef steaks?" She didn't look to happy at the thought.  
"No, these are milking cows." he said. He decided there was no need to go on about what could happen to their calves.  
"That's a relief." said Hana.

In a while, the shadows started to lengthen and he said "I think it is now time to go back and see how Yoshe is going."

Yoshe was sitting on the veranda, rocking back and forwards in a rocking chair, when her husband came in sight, hand in hand with Hana. She raised her eyebrows just a little.

Later that night, as she lay in bed, she snuggled up to him and said "Come on, admit it, you're beginning to like Hana too, aren't you?"  
"Hmm, but don't tell anyone, it doesn't go with my macho image."  
"You're not fooling anyone - dear."  
"Hmm?"

The next day they had a day trip to several farms next door. Then Yoshe's husband went back home, and Yoshe and Hana obtained a bus trip across the southern end of Guri to another farm. The farming couple, who were old enough to be grandparents, welcomed them in and Yoshe and Hana unpacked their belongings in their assigned bedroom. Since there was only the two of them, they were given a single room. Yoshe had a single bed, and Hana had mattresses on the floor. During the rest of the day, the lady of the couple kindly let Hana tag along as she went about her farming duties, and the man and Yoshe went through their business arrangements.  
In the afternoon Yoshe and Hana walked, hand in hand, around the farm buildings and out along the road to a local high spot. From here the Wall could also be seen, plus the paddocks of the local farms, and on one side an expanse of forest. They sat down, and since the wind was slightly chilly, Hana huddled up to Yoshe, who put her arm around her.  
"What are all of those pieces of paper in your brief case for?" said Hana.  
"They are my notes and arrangements for buying flowers for the forthcoming year. It looks simple, but to allow somebody to walk into my shop on a random day and buy a bunch of flowers for their dear mother requires a large amount of organisation in the background."  
"I've never thought about such things before." Hana appeared to be thinking for a while. "Is it the same with our Renmei account books?"  
"Of course. The Communicator, or some Renmei, has to spend a lot of time shuffling those bits of paper around. There are also my payments of your wages that they need to deal with, and the importing and exporting via the Toga."  
"So the Communicator doesn't just sit in his pagoda and gives us our weekly account book and asks us how we are going?"  
Yoshe laughed at this. "No, I'm sure that he is very busy with all sorts of responsibilities, most of which I don't know anything about."  
"Anyway, it's time to report for the evening meal."

The meal was a pleasant affair, just Yoshe and Hana and the farming couple. Just like the first couple, they could barely restrain their smiles at the sight of a young haibane sitting at their table. Hana was polite in her manners, and charming. Well, she was, right up to the incident of the second helping of cheesecake. It started innocently enough. Hana finished off her helping, and since there was more cheesecake available, asked the lady for another slice. She started to say yes, however, Yoshe didn't want to overdo their welcome, got in first and said.  
"No Hana, we had better leave some for their own tea tomorrow."  
"But she was going to say yes!"  
"Nevertheless, you have already had a big helping."  
Hana asked the lady directly "Can't I have another helping?"  
But the farming couple, being grandparents with all that that entailed, knew better than to acquiesce to this demand.  
"Yoshe! Say I'm allowed to have another slice!"  
"Sorry, we really mustn't be too greedy..."  
At this point Hana jumped up out of her chair. "Yoshe! I hate you!"  
She made a beeline for the door. "I don't want to ever see you again!"  
She slammed the door, and a little later they could hear the bedroom door slam shut.  
Yoshe, stunned by this outburst, sagged and put her head in her hands and said, in a small voice on the verge of tears "She hates me."  
At this point the farming couple both burst out laughing. Yoshe looked at them in shock, a bewildered look on her face.  
"Ahh, Yoshe, you're wonderful." said the lady, coming around to give Yoshe a hug.  
"Don't you remember back to your teenage years." said the man, "Did you sometimes have arguments with your parents?"  
Yoshe looked at him, and straightened up. "That's right, I remember now. In fact I was an outright utter pain on occasions, much worse than Hana was."  
"And I bet you still loved your parents" said the lady.  
"Of course. I was heartbroken when they both died a decade ago, within a year of each other."  
"You never had children of your own?"  
"No. You are right, I'm overreacting to this." said Yoshe.  
"Sit with us and have a talk for a while, then go to bed. With luck she will have calmed down by them. Also, take this book." said the man.  
He went to their bookcase and took out a book of children's stories. "We read these to our grandchildren when they are over."

Yoshe cautiously opened the bedroom door and walked in. Hana, who must have been sleeping lightly, woke up and, in a normal voice, said hello.  
"I have a book of children's stories here. Would you like me to read one?"  
"Yes please. Could you sit next to me on my mattress?"  
So Yoshe sat right next to Hana and read one of the stories. Hana lay there listening to the story, her head against Yoshe's side. Finally Yoshe came to the end.  
"And that was the finish of the evil prince."  
No reaction from Hana. Yoshe carefully moved off the mattress and looked at Hana sleeping, her halo plainly visible in the dim light of the reading lamp. She carefully knelt over and kissed her on the forehead, then got into her bed. As she lay there, she kept thinking about the Communicators last words to her. It took ages for her to drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4, Daiani and Komai

One Sunday morning a few weeks later, Kaori and Ukimi were doing their scheduled cocoon patrol of Leyton House. Kaori found a cocoon.  
Actually, she found two cocoons, one right next to the other, in one of the bigger second story bedrooms.  
She carefully exited the room, and then ran to the stair well.  
"Ukimi! Ukimi! I found a cocoon. I've found two cocoons!" She was practically squealing with delight.

They stood, arms around each other, at a respectful distance, looking at the two little cocoons, just twenty centimetres high, side by side, attached by a small stalk to the floor boards.  
"My, my, two little baby haibane" said Ukimi.  
"Do you think there is actually a baby haibane in there, or do the haibane arrive fully grown when the cocoon is big enough?" said Kaori.  
"I don't think anyone knows. And how could we, without, you know, ah, looking inside..." said Ukimi.  
"Which would kill the poor little haibane. I'd rather not know."  
As part of their patrols they had also been keeping the rooms clean. So there was nothing extra to be done for the time being done except watch the cocoons.  
They got a fire screen and positioned it across the opened door.

"Now kids, two at a time please, you can stand in front of the fire screen and look." This was Rakka, supervising the children as they gawked at the new arrivals. Of course, being the supervisor gave her the perfect excuse to look for as long as she liked. This Sunday lunch time there was Matsu and Mado from the Stone Mill nest present. Matsu admired the two cocoons, and then looked at the room itself.  
"With all due respects, Old Home tend to be somewhat lackadaisical about preparing for a new cocoon hatching. Considering the buildings they live in, I can't blame them. However, here, I suggest we be a bit proactive." said Matsu.

Matsu and Mado had a discussion with Kaori and Ukimi. As a consequence, over the next week various Stone Mill tradesmen made an appearance and did various items of work in the room. Since a cocoon hatching released a lot of water, they carefully cut a hole through the exterior stone wall at floor level, and put in a flap. They also removed, for the time being, the door, and built a low barrier across the door way. Somebody examined the floor, which was wooden boards, and the lower reaches of the walls, and repaired and sealed all cracks and gaps. All so that the released water would end up outside, and not flooding the house. The Stone Mill electrician rigged up a switch and ran a cable down to both Kaori's and Ukimi's bedrooms, and put a electric bell in each. This was to allow the person on watch duty at the final stages of the cocoon growth to easily call for help. The room had a built-in book case; as a final preparation Ukimi placed some blankets and towels on the top shelf, and a stretcher was leant against the wall in the corner. By now the cocoons were both a metre across; one was slightly larger than the other.

Kaori and Ukimi also belatedly realised that they needed a guest room. The ground floor bedroom at the opposite end of the corridor from Kaori's was selected, and two beds and chairs and various other items were installed.

One Friday afternoon, after they had both returned from their work shifts, they decided to walk over to the library. Kaori owned plenty of books, but the supply of unread books in the house had declined to dangerously low levels. They lugged in their bags of borrowed books, deposited them at the front counter, and went upstairs to the fiction section.  
"Kaori, look, there's a book called 'The Princess Bride, the Good Parts Version'" said Ukimi. "It looks like we might both like it!"  
A librarian who had been checking books nearby looked up at this, and was mildly surprised to see a human lady and an older haibane teenager discussing books together.  
"If you're into fantasy romances, I'm sure you'll like it. I certainly did." she said. "Hello there, my name is Sumika. I don't think we've met, but you must be Kaori of the Leyton House nest."  
"Yes, that's right. And this is my friend Ukimi, my first haibane."  
"Ahh, that brings back the memories. I was very good friends with a haibane too, for quite a number of years. Her name was Nemu."  
Small contemplative silence.  
"Also, I am now hosting two more." said Kaori.  
"Yes, and I believe you have two cocoons that will be hatching soon. You must be pleased."  
"I am indeed. And you must be pleased to be soon having your own new arrival." said Kaori, glancing at Sumika's tummy. Sumika was very obviously pregnant.  
Sumika patted her baby bulge.  
"So there's a little baby inside you right now?" said Ukimi. She was fascinated at the thought. "We haibane are hatched from cocoons. It's wet and messy and very painful, I can tell you."  
Sumika started giggling. "It's wet and messy and painful for us to, but at least we're not single use."  
Kaori practically fell on the floor with laughter. She did her best to smother it; they were in a library after all.  
Ukimi blushed.

Ten minutes after.  
"Ukimi, and Kaori also of course, you are welcome to visit me and my baby, once he or she is born. Our house is actually very close to Leyton House." said Sumika.  
"I looking forward to holding a little baby." said Ukimi.  
As they were walking back, Kaori had a thought: "How did Sumika know we had two cocoons coming on?"

"Ding dong" went the front door bell on the morning of the Saturday after the library visit.  
Kaori opened the door and was surprised to see the Communicator.  
"Hello, I apologise for the unexpected intrusion, but even I am curious to see some new cocoons. Especially a pair, they are not all that common." he said.  
"I am honoured" said Kaori. And she was, she hadn't expected such attention.  
Together the three of them looked in to the cocoon hatching room.  
"I complement you, and the Stone Mill visitors, for you preparations." he said.  
"Also, since you will soon be hosting five haibane, I believe it is now appropriate to invite you to be a full time nest mother, so you don't have to do your part time clerical work."  
"Why, thank you!" said Kaori.  
"As usual, our accountant will be in touch to arrange the details." with that, the Communicator went off to his market day duties.

Kaori looked at Ukimi. "Now I have the Communicator visiting me, to discuss haibane business. Isn't that amazing!"  
"I told you he wasn't all that bad."  
"Hmm, I'm still thinking about that one."

Hana and Kaze demanded to be included in on the duty roster. So, when both Mado and Rakka said the cocoons were looking almost ready, they arranged their times. At this stage, both Kaze and Kaori were home most of the time, while both Hana and Ukimi were absent in the middle part of the day.

Finally, Ukimi, who was on watch, realised that the smallest cocoon was just about to hatch. At 3:00 in the morning, naturally. She pressed the bell switch.

Let's just skip over the details of the hatching and wings out, they don't change all that much. We shall only look at the naming ceremony.

"I'm sure you have lots of questions, but first, would you like to tell us your dream?" said Kaori. She was sitting in a chair facing one of the beds; Ukimi was sitting next to her, holding the halo mould. The girls were barely containing their excitement and were hovering around in the background. In the bed was a young lady, still without wings and halo. She had blond hair and looked to have a physical age of about twelve.  
"My dream?" she said. She was still in the puzzled and mildly shocked stage.  
"I don't mean to alarm you, but you won't remember anything of you previous life, except for the contents of your cocoon dream." said Kaori.  
"Oh. My dream, I remember being carried and protected by my brother. There was sunlight shining on trees and grass and bushes all around. That's all."  
"So you must have been the little sister?" said Kaori. She paused in thought for a while. "How about we name you Komai, little sister?"  
"My name? But..."

And two days time, it was Kaori's turn to press the bell. At 2:00 in the morning. These two hatchings certainly knew how to time their arrivals.

This time there were four haibane, and Kaori, present at the naming ceremony. Komai was sitting the other side of Kaori, looking with wonder at this new arrival. By now she had her own halo and wings. Her wings were still twitching occasionally. In the second bed was a middle aged male teenager, also with blond hair, about fifteen or so. He was looking around with the standard puzzled expression, trying to work out what was going on.

"My dream?" he said. "Ah, I remember floating in water... Oh, before that." He collected his thoughts.  
"I was carrying my little sister along a path; there were trees and shrubs around..."  
"Yes! You are my brother!" shouted Komai. She jumped up and down, and suddenly stopped.  
"Ouch, my wings still hurt."  
She stood right next to her brother and reached out her hands. He looked at her and took her hands.  
"Yes, my sister." He gently squeezed her hands.

"Well. I think your name should be Daiani, big brother." said Kaori.  
"Huh? But my name is, is..."

The following morning Matsu arrived with two more name tags. He placed them on the notice board.  
"More than half filled! I'm going to have to make an extension soon!"

There was a discussion about where the two new arrivals would have their bedrooms. Kaori's bedroom was on the ground floor, and Ukimi's was on the first floor, and Hana and Kaze were next to Ukimi's. By now the two girls each had a proper bed, but they still shared a room.  
"Well, I'm happy anywhere, although I prefer to have a room next to Komai's" said Daiani.  
"I want to be closer to the others, how about the two bedrooms remaining next to Hana's and Kaze's" said Komai.  
The Communicator made some arrangements and the thrift shop guy delivered two second hand single beds, plus two only slightly worn mattresses and two chairs still in reasonable condition. They arrived the next day. As well, Matsu came over and installed some wardrobes and small desks, in both rooms.

A month later, the Leyton House occupants were having tea.  
"Sorry, Hana and Kaze, but there is no special dessert tonight, if we had it every night it would no longer be special, would it?." said Ukimi.  
The two girls were not convinced by this logic, but had to make do with a couple of chocolate biscuits each, also made by Ukimi.  
"There's plenty of fresh fruit, but" added Kaori.  
They each dutifully took a small piece. Then Daiani tried to get Komai to eat a piece of apple. "It's good for you!"  
"Stop trying to treat me like a baby!" said Komai, batting away the offering. "I can choose my own piece!"  
"That reminds me," said Kaori, "Sumika has had her new baby; it's a girl this time. Ukimi, we must pay them a visit."  
"Ooh, can we go to!" said Hana and Kaze, in perfect synchronisation.  
"And me!" said Komai.  
Daiani looked at the eager girls and rolled his eyes.  
"We can't all be there at once, it would overwhelm them. I'll ask if it is possible to arrange subsequent visits."

And thus, a week or so later, Kaori allowed Ukimi to take Komai and Daiani to visit Sumika. Initially Daiani had no interest but-  
"Stupid boy! You should know how to hold a baby also!" said Komai.  
"Why? It's not as we can ever be parents." he said. But Komai dragged him along anyway. Not having the energy to fuss, he compiled.

"Now put your arm under the baby, and with your other hand support the baby's back, oops, don't let her head flop back, that's right." said Sumika.  
"She's beautiful" Komai said, looking at the baby with complete adoration. The baby took all of this as if it was her perfect right.  
After Komai had oohed and ahhed enough, she decided it was Daiani's turn. She didn't bother to ask Daiani's opinion, she just told him to sit on the sofa next to her.  
Using almost the exact same words, she instructed her brother on how to take the baby. She gently transferred the little bundle from her arms to his, and then they sat there, Daiani holding the baby and Komai with her arms wrapped around his.  
"You're right, she is beautiful" said Daiani, hooked at last.  
Sumika, and her husband, and Ukimi, looked on at the sight of the two haibane, halos visibly glowing in the indoor lighting, grey wings fluttering slightly, soft expressions on their faces, cradling a baby between them. Sumika's husband decided he was suffering from a bad case of cute overload, and had to beat a hasty retreat to his study, where he looked at his martial art trophies for a while to recover.

Back at Leyton House.  
"I want to be a baby sitter! That can be my job!" said Komai to all present. "And Daiani can help me!"  
"But I don't want to hold a baby all day. I was thinking I might like to do something like window cleaning or general gardening jobs." said Daiani. He had found he enjoyed pottering around in Kaori's garden, and helping her move pots around and rake up the leaves and trim the hedges.  
"That's perfect!" said Komai. We go to someone's house, I do most of the baby sitting and he can do odd jobs around the house."  
"Err, yes I suppose I can." said Daiani.  
"Well, first things first. You need to actually do some practice babysitting first... I suppose Sumika might be willing..." said Kaori.

Somewhat to Kaori's surprise, Sumika was happy to fill the role of babysitter trainer, using her own baby. So for the next two weeks, Komai and Daiani were regular visitors to Sumika's residence.  
"If I had to be away for more than a few hours, I would make up some infant formula milk, like so..." said Sumika, showing them how.  
This time it was Daiani's turn to feed the baby from the bottle.  
"And when the baby is finished, you put her up on you shoulder and pat her back, that's right..."  
The baby promptly burped up a bit of milk, which ran down the back of Daiani's shirt.  
"Aark!" said Daiani, but still carefully holding the baby.  
"Oops, normally you put a towel there first, I forgot. Just think of it as being blessed by the baby."  
"Riiight, and do I then kiss her on the forehead as thanks for the blessing?"  
"That's optional."  
The baby started to cry.  
"Looks like I didn't make enough formula, so I'll have to feed her myself." said Sumika.  
"How do you feed the baby normally?" asked Daiani.  
Sumika told him.  
Daiani's eyes went round and he blushed bright red. He hurriedly, but gently, handed the baby to Sumika and made a beeline for the door.  
"I'll be back as soon as you've finished."  
Komai giggled.

At last the big day arrived, where Komai and Daiani were to look after the baby all by themselves. Sumika lined up her next door neighbour, who was mother of two children and granny of three grandchildren, for assistance, should any be needed. Her husband had already taken their three year old son to his aunty's. Finally Sumika handed over the baby, and she and her husband went to the evening concert at Guri's Ballroom and Function Centre.  
"Hey, it's nice to have an evening out like this!" he said at the start of the concert.  
"Yes, it sure is" she said.  
"I hope everything is all right" she said at the first interval.  
"Of a course it is, you have trained them well" he said.  
"Was there enough infant formula? I hope Komai doesn't stab my baby with a safety pin when doing up her nappy" This was at the second interval.  
"Relax, honey, they have backup from next door."  
There were drinks and nibblies at the conclusion.  
"Can we just go straight home? Perhaps the baby is having a temper tantrum and they can't control her."  
Her husband gazed wistfully at the snacks, but he knew where his duty lay.  
They quietly opened the front door and walked into their apartment. They looked into the opened door of the main bedroom, and there was the baby, sound asleep in its cot at the foot of the bed. They continued on to the lounge, and Daiani was sitting on the sofa, reading a book while Komai leant against his side, half asleep.  
"Oh, hello. There were no problems. I hope you had a nice time out." said Komai, after yawning and stretching.

After that, they baby sat Sumika's baby once a week or so, and Sumika learnt not to worry. At least not too much. Sumika also had a little discussion with Kaori about payment.  
"I suggest that you act as the co-ordinator for their baby sitting duties, and customers can directly pay you with cash, which you pay into the Renmei's bank account. That way we maintain the prohibition against haibane dealing with money."  
Naturally, at first, Sumika was the only customer. Mostly Komai looked after the baby, and Daiani was assigned odd jobs like sweeping the leaves from the lawn, or stacking firewood. Sumika did her best to spread the word, and eventually they had two more regular paying customers. The endorsement from Sumika, a mother of a baby, was a big help in finding these. The novelty factor of having two haibane babysit one's babies also played a part.

Daiani found an old bicycle in Kaori's garden shed. With the help of some of the haibane from the Abandoned Factory, he was able to make it serviceable again. He also installed a pillion seat, so he could pedal and Komai could ride behind him. A few weeks later they rode on the bicycle, in the middle of the day, out to a new customer's house for babysitting. The location was in the local farming area; since it was still winter and it was half way between raining and snowing, they were well rugged up. The father was currently working on a farm way over on the other side of Guri's agricultural area, and the mother needed to visit her parents. She welcomed them in, introduced them to the baby and showed them the preparations, then off she went. She drove off in what was effectively a small enclosed motorised three wheeled scooter.

Komai picked up the baby and made goo-goo noises to him. Daiani put his hands on his sister's shoulders and hugged them both, kissing the baby's fuzzy crop of hair.  
"Ain't he so cute." He pressed his cheek against the baby's and the baby gurgled back at him. "Ok, that's enough of the lovey-dovey stuff; I'll do my own work now."  
He went about his assigned duties, shovelling snow off the garden path, bringing in more fire wood, and cleaning out the fire places. The time came to feed the baby, and Komai took the prepared milk out of the fridge, warmed it up, and let the baby have a good feed. She carefully put a towel over her shoulder before burping him. Daiani came in from the cold, stamping his feet and rubbing his hands.  
"It will be fun going back home tonight, the rain is half frozen, and is falling almost horizontal."  
He took out their own prepared tea and they shared it. 6:00pm came and went.  
"She's supposed to be back by now" said Komai. She looked at the baby. He was still contentedly sleeping, but he would be getting hungry soon.  
7:00pm came and went.  
"I've found the packet of infant formula, but it is almost empty." said Daiani as he came back out of the kitchen. "I've searched everywhere and there doesn't appear to be any more."  
Komai was trying to distract the baby from its emerging hunger pangs, but was beginning to fail. So she made up the rest of the formula. It would keep the baby quiet for another hour or so.  
By now they were both distinctly worried.  
"I don't suppose you can feed a baby just like a mother can?" asked Daiani.  
"Of course I can't! I'm not old enough. And I'm not a mother. Not to mention the fact that I'm a haibane."  
"Hmm, have you heard of the term 'left holding the baby'?" asked Daiani.  
"I have now. What do we do? We don't have any more food for the baby. How long can babies last without food?"  
"Well, judging by the way they cry and scream, probably about five minutes" said Daiani.  
Komai rocked the baby and began to really worry. "It had better be more than that, but what shall we do?"  
"We will have to take the baby to somewhere where he can be looked after. I just hope we don't get in trouble for taking the baby away from his home." said Daiani.  
"If we do, it can't be helped, we must look after him." said Komai.

They started preparing for travel with a baby in bad weather. Daiani decided there was no way in Guri he could safely ride a bicycle in this weather with two passengers, one a baby. So they had to walk. A search of the house yielded a baby harness, so he strapped it around Komai, then they rugged up the baby and put him in it. It was a front harness, so Komai could see the baby. Daiani found a bright blue and yellow baby sized woollen hat, so that went on his head. Komai's raincoat was now too small to fit her, so Daiani used a larger one he found in the hallway. By buttoning it almost all the way up to the top Komai was able to cover the baby's head, while still being able to have a peek at her charge if needed. Daiani looked at an umbrella, then looked out the window, and decided the umbrella would just fly away, and probably take Komai with it. Finally he wrote a note about what they were doing, and where they were going, and stuck it in the middle of the dining room table. They took a deep breath, and stepped out into the storm.  
"Walk right behind me, since we are walking into the rain. My, this is, err, interesting." said Daiani.  
Guri had a small population, only about 10,000 people. So there wasn't a lot of overly formal structure. They made up with a lot of semi formal and informal arrangements. One of those arrangements was an ever shifting network of baby houses; a house where a mother of a young baby lived and who was prepared to have an open house for any other mothers (and fathers) of babies that needed a bit of help or assistance. As part of their preparations for babysitting, Komai and Daiani would memorise the nearest baby house for each babysitting location. They were now walking to the nearest such location, about twenty minutes walk away.  
In good weather, that is. Forty minutes later they staggered through the front gate and up the path to the baby house.

Nanny Ogg wasn't actually a mother of a baby, that was too many decades ago for her to count. But considering that: she had two daughters, and they had children, and now there were great grand children; she kept in touch with her sister, and her children, and cousins and friends, and they all had children or grand children or great grand children; also Nanny Ogg was a great one for inviting people over, her house was big and she willingly let people sleep over. Consequently there nearly always was a baby somewhere in her big house. So it was only natural that she would put her hand up to be the hostess of a baby house.  
This particular evening she was settling into her comfy armchair in her front parlour. The fire was going full blast, and there were about a dozen women of all ages socialising, with two babies and some small toddlers, and some young teenagers, and, while Nanny wasn't quite sure, there may have been some older teenagers in other rooms of the house. Exactly what they might be getting up to she had long ago given up worrying about. She was holding court with a group of women gathered around her chair, while the others present ignored her and made their own entertainment.  
There was a 'dong' from the front door bell. Everybody looked up, wondering if anything of interest was going to happen.  
"I don't think anybody was expecting any visitors, in this weather, are they? asked Nanny.  
Getting no replies, she got up, went down the front hallway and opened the front door. She saw a young man, a complete stranger, standing there, water dripping off his raincoat. Nanny, having become fearless about men during her long life and having a house full of guests anyway, merely said hello and invited him in out of the cold. She was a little surprised to see a smaller female, also rugged up, right behind him. And she was very surprised to realise they both had halos.  
"Two haibane?" went the whispers as the guests from the parlour crowded in to the hall way to see who had arrived.  
And as they took off their raincoats, it became apparent that the female was carrying a baby in a harness.  
Nanny Ogg, being used to parents bringing in their babies, looked in complete astonishment.  
"But, haibane don't have babies!" she said to herself. Eventually, she realised that just because they had a baby, didn't mean it was _their_ baby.

Half an hour later.  
Nanny had requested one of the nursing mothers to look after the baby, and had pressed upon the two haibane some hot soup and toast. They didn't protest too much. She had gone through her house, poking her head into various bedrooms, until she had found a suitable man; this one was in his early twenties.  
"Ok, Tadashi, you are going in your truck and driving to the watch house, so as to start enquires about the location of the mother."  
"But I was trying to get some sleep."  
"Indeed," said Nanny, raising her eyebrows. "And I suppose that young lady was reading you a bedtime story?"  
Tadashi knew defeat when he saw it. Nanny gave him the name of the baby and mother, since she actually knew them slightly; they had visited several times.

An hour and a half later, Daiani and Komai were sitting in a lounge chair in yet another room of Nanny's house. Komai was holding a very well fed and sleeping baby, and the brother and sister were almost asleep themselves, leaning against each other. Nanny strolled into the room.  
"Good news!" she said, loud enough to wake up the haibane but not loud enough to wake the baby.  
Two watchmen came in after her, looking slightly damp from the weather.  
"We've found the mother. She had an accident while driving her vehicle and ended up in hospital with a broken leg. When we last checked she was still out from the anaesthetic."  
Tadashi went back to his bed time story, Nanny and her social friends went back to the parlour room with a new topic of conversation, and the watchmen drove the haibane and the baby to the hospital.

The doctor led the three up the stairs, down a white corridor with numbered doors, and into one of them. She spread apart the curtains of one of the beds and brought up two chairs. The haibane sat down and looked at the mother in the bed. She was sound asleep, with one of her legs in plaster. The doctor said that she will be around, just ask one of the nurses if need be, and left them in peace. They waited, battling to keep their eyes open. Eventually the mother stirred and opened hers, and slowly focused upon the two haibane. .  
"Hello, we bought your baby in for you" said Komai, as she gently transferred the baby to his mother's arms.

After that, they had no problems in getting enough babysitting jobs.


	5. Chapter 5, Minato

Rakka made a point of visiting Leyton House at least once a week, to catch up on Hana and Kaze and Ukimi, to observe the continued progress of Komai and Daiani, and to develop a friendship with Kaori. Generally her times with Kaori were snatched in small segments while they were both dealing with all of the other haibane present. But one day the Stone Mill mob decided to organise a group picnic on the river, inviting every haibane of all four nests that wanted to go. It was now the start of the summer season, and apparently the entire population of Guri was keen on getting outdoors. The date was tentatively set to Sunday fortnight, thus replacing the Leyton House Sunday meal.  
"Kaori, don't you think it might be a good idea for us to step aside for a day and to let some of the others have leadership experience? Us two could have our own private little gathering, and enjoy not having to worry about everyone else." said Rakka in a quiet moment.  
"You know, I think that idea has possibilities." answered Kaori.

Consequently, on the designated Sunday, Kaori cheerfully waved off her winged charges, packed some of her own books into a back pack, and set off for Old Home. She tramped along in her sensible walking boots, reflecting on the difference between now and the last time she travelled this way.  
It was a nice day, the sun shone on the green fields, and reflected of the water in the river, birds flew over head, even the sheep looked happy. There were a couple of crows kicking up a fuss, but Kaori ignored them. A whole eight hours before her haibane were due home again. It was wonderful looking after them, but what bliss to have a few hours off. She hummed a happy little tune as she crossed the little bridge and walked up to the entrance hall at Old Home.  
Rakka had been waiting in the court yard, hanging out some clothes to pass the time. She ran up to Kaori and held her hands momentarily.  
"You remembered to bring some books! The means I don't have to walk all the way to the library for another week or so. You look well."  
"So do you. Colour in your cheeks and nice grey wings, oops, there's a black spot..."  
"What!" said Rakka, shocked.  
"It's just a blackened piece of leaf, would you like me to..."  
"Oh, that all. Sure", Rakka visibly relaxed and giggled, "You can remove it." In fact, if you like, we can sit on the low wall here and you can check my wings for more."  
Kaori cast her eye over Rakka's wings, and carefully removed three seeds and tried to remove a spot of green paint.  
"Sorry, that green paint is stuck on for good. You could try cutting it out..."  
"I definitely won't be cutting it out!" said Rakka. She calmed down again. "I guess I will just have to wait."  
Kaori rewound this conversation through her mind, and frowned slightly.  
"Is there something that I don't know about wings, you gave two very emphatic denials there, one about black spots and one about cutting feathers..." she said.  
"Well" said Rakka. She then stopped. She had never really explained fully to anyone about the various trails she and Reki had suffered, except to Big Ugly Sam, who was supposed to have written a booklet about the trails of various haibane, and given it to the Renmei to check. However Rakka had never heard anything more about it. She had assumed that the Communicator didn't really think it was a good idea to publish it and let just anyone know about such matters. Rakka wasn't about to argue against him, she wasn't even sure if she agreed or not. But Kaori wasn't just anyone; she was the leader of a nest of five haibane, and having a human's long life, potentially many more haibane to come.  
"Hmm, I've only done this before once, but I think you deserve a full explanation."

Half an hour later, Kaori's head was swimming in facts about Tsumitsuki, Rakka's ordeal, Reki's ordeal and even a description of the insides of the Wall.  
"So that's why you were so touchy that day in the thrift shop!" said Kaori. She did some more thinking-  
"And, oh my, all of this hidden detail about haibane that I never even knew existed. How much more is there to reveal?"  
"Well, unless you manage to get the Communicator to talk, I think you now know most of it."  
The both laughed at the idea of Kaori going up to the Communicator, and just asking him for such information.

Rakka looked at the clock.  
"Nowhere near lunch yet, how about we take the books up to my room. I think I might have some of yours left over from when Ukimi lived here."  
Kaori looked around at the derelict buildings.  
"All of this just for a dozen or so occupants! And all girls, too."  
"Well, we did have Big Ugly Sam for a little while." said Rakka.  
Kaori remembered seeing him around town on occasions. "Yes, he looked ugly, but seemed to be nice and very intelligent."  
"Sometimes he was amazingly stupid, too." said Rakka, with a laugh.  
"It must go with being a man." More laughing. In fact they were enjoying their laughter so much they didn't notice the water dripping down the stairs as they made their way up them. They probably assumed someone had over watered the pot plants. They got to Rakka's room and she went to open the door, when  
The sound of someone crying.  
Looking around, they belatedly noticed that the floor was wet.  
The crying sound was coming from the room next to Rakka's.  
Kaori dropped her bag full of books.  
"You had better open the door and see what's there."

They were now kneeling on the wet floor, facing each other, each holding the hand of Old Home's newest arrival. She was lying on the ground between them, a young teenage girl in the standard birthing gown, looking about thirteen. As soon as she had seen them enter she reached out her hand to them and said  
"Please don't leave me." She had then fainted.  
"I wish there was some way of preventing these unannounced arrivals!" said Rakka with annoyance. "Too many are found, by fluke, after they hatch. If I was the Communicator I would try to do something about this!"  
"Yes, I found Ukimi the same way. But what can we do about it? Well, there goes our peaceful day."

With struggle, they got the new haibane to the guest room. They didn't drop her, but Rakka was certainly wishing for Big Ugly Sam's help, just for this once. The new girl woke up again and looked at her two carers.  
"Hello, I'm Rakka, and this is Kaori."  
"Hello, I'm..., my name is ..."  
Kaori rushed in before the girl could start to panic.  
"It's all right, all new haibane lose their memories upon arrival. The only memory you retain is called your cocoon dream. So what is the last thing you remember?"  
"I, I was floating in a little boat down a river and through a harbour. I can't remember what the harbour was like. But my name?"  
Rakka and Kaori looked at each other. Kaori nodded to Rakka, "Your call" she said.  
"Floating in a boat in a harbour" said Rakka. "So how would Minato (means harbour) sound for your name?"  
"Minato, I'm Minato?"

Minato spent an hour clinging to Kaori's and Rakka's hands, and then she drifted off to sleep again.

It was now 3:00am and Kaori and Rakka were methodically cleaning Minato's new wings.  
It's not that Minato was frightened of the others, nor was she dismissive of their existence. It was just that she appeared to have Kaori and Rakka irrevocably imprinted upon her subconscious, to the exclusion of all others. They were her senpai or seniors, and the rest were just social companions. So only Kaori and Rakka would do for looking after her wings.  
"Tell me, all the wings you have cleaned, did they all take place at the same ungodly hour as this one?" said Kaori.  
"More or less." Rakka yawned, dodged another wing spasm, and rinsed her brush again. "And you?"  
"Yeah. They must time it or something. At what time of day did Reki clean you wings?"  
"All night."  
"There you are, the Wall is absolute: all haibane will adjust the time of their wing-outs so as to cause the maximum amount of sleepiness to their seniors." Now it was Kaori's turn to yawn.  
"Minato is certainly attached to both of us, much more so than usual. It's a slight problem that we are the leaders of two different nests." said Rakka.  
"Well, if Hana can commute, so can Minato, I suppose."

A little later.  
"This is my fourth wing cleaning." said Kaori. "Although each time I shared it with someone else."  
"Hmm, this is my fourth." said Rakka, "And I shared it each time also. Actually with Sam, his wings were so large I was one of four to clean them."  
"We should keep score. Four each at the moment." said Kaori.  
Brush - brush, swish, splash.  
"Shouldn't I get an extra point, since Sam's were twice the size." said Rakka.  
"Hmm, I suppose so... Wait a minute; you just said you had four helpers for him. Nice try young lady, but we're still even."  
"Rats. I suppose in this counting scheme Reki would get two points."  
Kaori ran over Reki's story in her head. "We really do need a cocoon early warning system."

Two weeks later. Just as Kaori had foreseen, Minato was emphatic in her desire to be with both of her senpai, so she spent four days at Old Home, and three days at Leyton House. At Leyton House she moved into a spare bedroom on the ground floor, while at Old Home she reclaimed her cocoon room, right next door to Rakka. The Communicator just let her be. Matsu made another call to Leyton House.  
"Seven tags, my my, Leyton House will soon be the haibane nest, with all others just little afterthoughts."  
"Quit the ridiculous exaggeration already, young man. For a start, three of them are only part time." said Kaori.  
Matsu went on his way, waving goodbye with a big grin.

* * *

"Hi to the lovely Yasaka!"  
A young man, dressed in work overalls and carrying a bicycle frame, grinned at Yasaka. They were on the factory floor of Guri's Tyre and Bike factory. All around them were machines and racks of parts and partially completed bikes and kid's scooters and other items. Yasaka and Minato were standing on the main path through the factory, outlined by painted stripes on the floor. To one side were partitioned off sections; from one of which came the intermittent buzzing sounds and the flashes of light of someone arc welding. Nearby was a large sheet metal press, with workers feeding it flat strips of steel sheeting and obtaining folded sheets in return. All around were other workers, mostly young men, busy turning sheets and bars and pipes of steel into manufactured products, for use in Guri and for export via the Toga.  
"Hi to the not-so-handsome Tadashi! Has that girlfriend of yours dumped you yet?" replied Yasaka, with a wave and a big grin.  
"Of course not. She still thinks I'm handsome, so don't tell her otherwise!" Tadashi realised that Yasaka had a companion haibane, a young teenage girl.  
"Oh, hello, I don't think we have met?" he said, moderating his voice to a more respectful tone.  
"This is Minato, our newest haibane. We're giving her a tour of our respective work places, and today it's my turn." said Yasaka, indicating Minato.  
"Hello Tadashi! This place certainly looks busy, what exactly are you all doing here?" She turned her head slightly to the side and looked upwards at Tadashi, her wings fluttering a little.  
"Well, lots of things! I'll tell you what; I'll give you both the guided tour. Firstly, you always need ear protection, there's a lot of noise around here." He indicated a bright orange container attached to a nearby desk. "Those dispense disposable ear plugs".

For the next hour or so he escorted them around the factory floor, explaining the various processes, and also explaining the safety procedures expected. He was clearly enjoying himself. Minato followed his explanations attentively, and happily chatted to any other men that were introduced. Eventually  
"Well, I had better get back to my work. See you later!" he shook hands with Minato, who smiled nicely back.  
"Well, well, she certainly has no trouble with the young men here" thought Yasaka. When Yasaka had first arrived in Guri, it had taken her months to get over the feeling of being terrified of strangers, particularly young men. She didn't have any problems now; in fact she liked the bantering and fake insults of the factory floor. None of the men had ever crossed the unspoken line that separated social bantering from the more serious stuff. They knew better, and their peers were always watching.  
"Hey, I like it here!" said Minato to Yasaka. "What is it that you do?"

Yasaka didn't have any technical skills, nor was she interested in acquiring any. Instead she helped out at the canteen during the lunch hour, did simple clerical work, carried messages to and thro, swept floors, and whatever else was needed. It all involved interaction with the workers, mostly male.  
"This place will do for me!" said Minato.

When she had first seen how attached Minato was to her two senpai, to the exclusion of the others, Yasaka was apprehensive that it might be a repeat of her experience. But, no, it just appeared that she formed deep emotional connections with a few people only. Everybody else was social acquaintances whose company she enjoyed. Especially if they were boys.

Later, after another Sunday gathering at Leyton House, there was a little gathering in Kaori's lounge, which had gotten around to discussing certain topics. Minato was present, as well as Kaori and Ukimi, and Yoshe, and Rakka and the twins and Yasaka.  
"I think the boys at the Tyre factory are wonderful!" said Minato.  
"But, is that going to cause any problems?" said Rakka. She was fidgeting with her handkerchief, displacing her embarrassment at bringing up such a topic. But she felt she had to.  
"Why? I'm not actually flirting with them. After all, I'm only thirteen or so." said Minato.  
"Huh, well, if you say so" Rakka was out of her depth.  
"I think it's all right" said Yasaka. "I've never had any problems, and as you no doubt know teenage males are the worse for certain behaviours, but if they can treat me well, they can treat a younger girl just as well."  
Having been reassured, Rakka would have been happy to change the topic. However Kaori took the opportunity to clear up some questions she had accumulated.  
"I've been wondering about this. Do haibane girls ever show any romantic interest in any boys, haibane or otherwise?"  
Yoshe also looked interested in this topic.  
"I think the boys can be cute, and some are really handsome, and some are nice as work place social friends, but that's about the extent of it with me." said Yasaka.  
"Boys are sort of interesting in the abstract" said Ukimi, "but so far I haven't had any desire for any particular boy, nor do I think I will for the foreseeable future."  
"Boys are icky" said Kasai. But then she was a young teenage girl.  
"I don't really get the whole romance stuff." said her twin, Jika.  
Kaori looked at Rakka, who was looking slightly uncomfortable.  
"Yeah, I know what romance and stuff is, but I don't have any wish whatever for getting involved with boys that way." she eventually said.  
"Perhaps you like girls instead?" said Minato.  
"Huh, what?" Rakka face went bright red. "No, no, I definitely think that, ah, boys would be my choice, that's if I wanted to make a choice. But I don't."  
Kaori and Yoshe exchanged glances. They were both thinking  
"Minato is the exception, she does like boys. What happens when she gets older?"

"While we are on this topic, and considering I am hosting older teenage girls, ah, do any of you know what is meant by the term 'feminine hygiene products'?" said Kaori.  
"Sure," said Ukimi. "But it appears we don't need them."  
Rakka and Yasaka agreed with this.  
"I know also." said Minato. "So we don't need them?" she asked Ukimi.  
"Apparently not."  
Jika and Kasai looked puzzled "What are they?"  
"Perhaps it depends on the age at which you died in your former lives?" said Kaori.  
Both Kaori and Yoshe noted that Minato was the exception, again.  
Kaori looked at Rakka. "How about I give the twins a quick rundown on the topic a little later?"  
Rakka accepted gratefully.

Now it was Minato's turn to ask a personal question. "Do you have a boy friend?" she said, looking at Kaori. Minato knew that Yoshe was married.  
"Hey, we're going outside to play!" said Kasai.  
After the twins had disappeared, Kaori answered "Fair's fair, I suppose. I have had boyfriends in the past. My last one was about the time I first met Rakka."  
Kaori was aware that Yoshe was listening to this with interest.  
"But, really, I don't think I am cut out for being in a relationship. They always ended badly, and I used to think it was always the man's fault. But maybe it was mine also."  
Ukimi put her arm around Kaori's. "You've got better things to do now-a-days." she said.  
"I do indeed".  
"And I'm so glad I'm happily married. I would hate to have to go through all of that again." said Yoshe.

"Frankly, I'm glad we're haibane." said Jika. Kaori had arranged a bit of privacy and had just spent some time explaining various things about being human to the twins.  
"Yeah, do you lot actually enjoy all of that?" said Kasai.  
"Let's just say it's complicated." said Kaori. She didn't think she was qualified to talk about the joys of romantic relationships.

As the Old Home group were walking back home, they could hear the town clock ringing out 4:00pm.  
Rakka turned to Minato and said "That reminds me, next Sunday one of the clock tower apprentices is coming over at midday to do normal maintenance on the Old Home clock. Now that Kana is gone..."  
Kana had been the one to restore the clock to running order. She had also gone on her Day of Flight a couple of years ago.  
"We have to get outside help." said Rakka. "Everybody else is either going to Leyton House, or for a walk along the river, would you like to keep me company?"  
"Of course" said Minato.

So, as the clock was ringing out midday, Rakka and Minato were waiting at the front entrance hallway of Old Home. And, right on time, Kenji, the youngest apprentice of the clock master, rode up on his bicycle, a tool box strapped to the pillion seat.  
"Hello Rakka!"  
"Hello Kenji, and this is Minato, keeping me company today."  
"Hello Minato." As usual, Minato smiled very nicely at him, and was interested in what he had to say.  
"Have you seen the insides of the clock mechanism room?" asked Kenji, aware of Minato's gaze.  
Rakka had, but was willing to see it again when Minato expressed an interest.  
They both climbed up the stairs and the ladder to the clock tower room.  
"Kana did good work here; I never actually met her, unfortunately."  
Under Minato's attentive gaze, and Rakka's not so attentive gaze, he described the overall operation of the clock and the steps he was taking as part of the maintenance program.  
Rakka was thinking "Stop worrying. She just likes the company of boys; it's not as if she is flirting with him or anything."

After Kenji had gone they took their own picnic lunch and sat under one of the wind turbines. The blades swooshed around and around, the wind caused waves in the grass.  
"My friend Kuu used to play around here often. She was about your age when she went." said Rakka.  
Rakka jumped up and ran round a few circles, with her arms stuck out sideways. She then flopped down next to Minato.  
Minato laughed "Aeroplane wings, I can do that too!" She did a few circuits of the wind turbine pylon, before flopping down next to Rakka.  
"What did you call it? Aeroplane wings? That's a good name, but what is an aeroplane?"  
"Beats me, perhaps it is something that holds its arms out all the time?"

"I've been thinking about my cocoon dream." said Minato. "I don't think it was a boat I was floating on, but more like a raft."  
Rakka paid attention. Cocoon dreams were important.  
"I feel like I was alone in the dream, everyone else had disappeared. I can't recall why." Minato was silent for a while.  
"I hope you and Kaori don't disappear anytime soon."  
Rakka gasped Minato's hand tightly. This was reminding her of her own, and Reki's, troubles.  
"I can't promise anything about my Day of Flight, but apart from that I promise I will always be here for you."  
"Thank you."  
A long silence.  
"But if your Day of Flight calls, then that is all right. I wouldn't want to be the cause of delaying that." Minato finally said.  
Rakka hugged her.

They went back down to Old Home. Minato showed Rakka a new coat she had brought.  
"I'm not quite sure how to modify it for my wings" said Minato.  
They spent the rest of the afternoon with Rakka showing Minato how to sew the wing slits into her coat.


	6. Chapter 6, Hana and Yoshe, part 2

The next Sunday Rakka and Yoshe and Hana were all present at the Sunday lunch at Leyton House. Hana waited for a suitable moment, when Rakka and Yoshe and Kaori were all together, then went up to Yoshe, held her hands and said  
"When I was smaller, us children would sometimes see the human children playing with their mothers and fathers. We would wonder what it would be like to be in such a family. To have a mother or father especially just for us, and maybe a brother or sister. Not to have to share a house mother with nine other kids, and have our seniors disappear on Day's of Flight on a regular basis. Having had that field trip with you and your husband was a wonderful experience. It shows me what it would be like to have a mother and father."  
At this she gave Yoshe a big hug. Yoshe, very touched by this, hugged her back.  
"That's fine, fine, dear" said Yoshe. She flicked her eyes with her fingers.  
"Now I'm going outside to play with Kaze!" and out she went.  
Kaori smiled after her. "Isn't that nice."  
Rakka, who had been eating her helping of chocolate and strawberry cake, another of Ukimi's creations, gave a gasp. She dropped her spoon, which landed on the floor with a clatter. She sat there, staring past the cake, as if at something a long, long way away.  
"Rakka? Is the cake bad or something?" asked Kaori.  
Rakka was thinking about Kuu, saying something similar once upon a time.  
"Rakka?"  
"Oh, sorry, I was..." here Rakka faced a dilemma. Should she tell the humans what this was probably about, or not?  
"If Hana is really going soon, then they need to know, right?" she thought. "And if I'm wrong? Well, I suppose they should still know what such statements can mean, after all they are looking after haibane."  
Yoshe and Kaori both were looking at Rakka with some concern.  
"If you're not eating your cake, there must be something really wrong" said Yoshe. Yoshe would have to have something really important on to miss eating her own cake.  
Sigh. "The last time a haibane said something like that to me, she left on her Day of Flight soon afterwards." said Rakka. "But no doubt this time it's just a false alarm."

It wasn't.

Two days later, a bit before dusk, they were all gathered on the hill outside Old Home. Kaori and Yoshe and her husband were there, as were the house mother and most of the haibane. The weather was cold, with patchy snow and patchy clouds. Hana had been fussed over, made to wear warm boots and a warm coat and rain coat. Rakka had given her a packed lunch and the house mother had made her wear a beanie. Hana had endured all of this, her halo blinking occasionally, with a somewhat distracted air. She was gazing pass the people fussing over her, looking elsewhere. Finally Yoshe took off her own scarf.  
"Hana! Please take this scarf, and, ah, take care?"  
Hana focused on Yoshe worried face. It was as if Hana was making an effort to come back. Just for a moment, she devoted her full attention to Yoshe.  
"Yoshe, I'll be all right. Don't worry. And thanks for the scarf."  
Hana wrapped the scarf around her neck, turned around and walked off into the forest.

An hour or so later her light display lit up the Western Woods. It shone through gaps in the clouds and reflected off the eyes of all of those watching.

Kaze cried, and hung to Rakka's hand. "I'm sorry, Kaori, but now that Hana is gone I can't bear the thought of living at Leyton House in that bedroom again."  
Kaori gave her a hug. "That's fine, dear. You can still visit us on Sundays; Ukimi's cake is always waiting."

"No, no, I'm Ok" said Yoshe to Rakka and Kaori. "My husband will keep me company on the way home."

Maybe she wasn't ok.

She woke up her husband with her crying, at 3:00am.  
"Honey, it's all right. This is what haibane are supposed to do." He blinked his eyes a few times. "Although it is sad."  
They went back to sleep.

During the day Yoshe appeared fine. She did go through a few handkerchiefs each day, but she also got through her workday, dealt with customers and suppliers, did her share of the house work. And every morning, very early, she would wake her husband with her crying.  
"She was only thirteen! A little girl. She went out all by herself in a storm. How can she look after herself!"  
Her husband wondered about this also. "But, the same would apply to all haibane, I guess. The Wall surely only lets them go when they are ready."  
"I'll try to get back to sleep."

After a week her husband was getting worried. "I'm going to call in Kaori and Rakka" he said. We can all have a meal here, I'll cook, and then I'll leave you to their care."  
Next night Kaori and Ukimi and Rakka were guests at Yoshe's house. During the meal nothing of importance was said, and at its finish the husband disappeared to his office.  
"I keep having these awful dreams about Hana all by herself, in a winter storm. She was just a little girl; shouldn't she have had someone to look after her?"  
"Kuu was the same age when she went. If a haibane is ready, they can cope. At least that is what the Communicator says." said Rakka. "I feel really sad too, but I do believe that Hana is ok. We just have to let her go to wherever she is going to."  
"Does the Communicator really know what is going on?" said Kaori. Sometimes she wondered.  
"The Communicator is an old man in a fancy dress costume!" shouted Yoshe. "What would he know about looking after thirteen year old girls!"  
"Yoshe" started Kaori.  
"Shut up! Why couldn't we have had some more time together? Was that too much to ask for?" Yoshe picked up a mug and threw it against the door, where upon it shattered into little pieces. She sagged, sat down and put her head in her arms.  
"Sorry Kaori, I'm just not coping."  
Kaori sat next to her and gently patted her back. "I'm not too happy about things, either."  
Ukimi had been watching this interaction, her face creased in worry lines.  
"Rakka is all right, sort of, with this, but you two aren't. Why don't you request an audience with the Communicator? Maybe he can explain things to make you feel better?" said Ukimi.  
"Damn the Communicator!" said Kaori.  
"Yes, Kaori, I know, but what else can you do? Hana is just not going to be coming back." said Ukimi, "And there's no one else who has any idea. And Yoshe needs some sort of closure, otherwise..."  
"I suppose so" said Kaori. "If Yoshe agrees. And in that case you can come along and suffer his company, too!"  
Yoshe felt that a visit wouldn't do much good, but she agreed that something had to be done. "Ok. Assuming the Communicator condescends to see us."  
"He had better!" said Kaori.

The Communicator did condescend. Somewhat to Kaori's surprise.

"Yoshe, I know that you loved Hana as if she was your daughter. There is nothing wrong with that. Neither I nor the Renmei can fault you for this. And Hana loved you back. This is all praiseworthy. But, unfortunately for you, Hana was a haibane. Every haibane is placed here in Guri for a limited time only. For some reason their original life was cut short before he or she was ready to move on. So instead, they end up here; where they are learn a little more about life, which they did not learn in their original life. They are here to overcome some trial or task, and when they have completed it they called upon to continue the journey to where ever they are going. Neither I nor the Renmei have much power over this. All we can do is to ensure the conditions here in Guri are suitable for a satisfactory conclusion of a haibane's trial."  
"And a most important part of their life here is to bond with their companions. We try to set things up so that their companions are mainly other haibane, but humans are here also, and if haibane ends up bonding with a human, then so be it. And, as you are painfully aware, those who love haibane will grieve them too, in turn. This includes both humans and haibane. Other haibane at least know that they will have a Day of Flight also, and the hope of meeting with their missing companions again, but for a human like you, this is much more problematical. The Renmei attempts to mildly discourage humans from forming bonds for this reason. But, when it comes to particular cases, the Renmei cannot, must not, dare not dictate to the haibane whom they may love and who may love them."  
"I am sorry for your grief. I would like to point out that the Wall will only allow haibane who are fully ready to depart. If you are worried that Hana might not be capable of looking after herself in whatever life she finds herself now, I wish to reassure you that there is no need to do so."

And as he spoke, Yoshe cried. Kaori and Ukimi stood on either side of Yoshe, supporting her.  
Kaori was thinking: "He is actually taking an effort to allay Yoshe's pain." She grudgingly conceded he was being decent. She was also thinking about Ukimi's Day of Flight. She looked down at the ground in an attempt to hide a tear or two trickling down her face.  
Ukimi, being a haibane, was agreeing with the Communicator. She was also thinking: "And when I go, Kaori will also be grief stricken." She hugged Yoshe's arm tightly, as if to hug Kaori.

"I'm sorry to be such a bother. I just cannot seem to move past this. I keep seeing Hana all alone, in the forest, surrounded by unknown things in the darkness." said Yoshe.

The Communicator reached out and lightly held Yoshe's hand. He started to say something, but then became quiet. He put his head slightly to one side, as if he was thinking about something, or listening to something. Eventually he appeared to reach some conclusion.  
"As you might be aware from Rakka's description of her work, underneath the Wall and running along it is a canal and on each side is a path, and on the walls are plaques, one each for each and every haibane. After a haibane has her Day of Flight her true name appears on this plaque, and it glows brighter for a month or so. Would you like to visit Hana's plaque?"  
There was a clatter as one of the nearby Renmei gardeners dropped his or her shears. Yoshe ignored this; she looked at the Communicator with a touch of wonder in her expression.  
"That would be nice."

They were in the passage way where the protective robes hung.  
"You need to be fully enclosed in one of these robes. While we are down in the wall you must never take off the robes, never take of the gloves or boot covers nor remove the hood. Your face is exposed, but never touch any surface of the Wall with your face."  
He showed them how to put on a robe, and then made sure that they were all fully prepared. The four of them continued down the stairs and came out at the canal. The lighting was dim and bluish. The canal flowed in from one side and continued to the other side, fading into the gloom at both ends. The walls of the tunnel reached up and merged into more darkness. There was only the slight sound of water flowing. In front of them, tied to a post, was a circular boat.

With all four on the boat, with the three ladies sitting, evenly distributed around the sides to keep it balanced, the Communicator paddled the boat slowly along. The walls flowed past. Eventually he stopped and they alighted. Every metre or so along the walls there was a column, carved from the same rock as the wall itself. Each column had a plaque, with symbols engraved on it. The symbols looked like the ones on the fossilised books in the library. All of the plaques were glowing very softly, the Communicator walked along, with the ladies following, until he came to one that was glowing much more that the others.

"Hana's plaque. The symbols spell her true name, which sounds the same as Hana, but in this language has a different meaning. You may touch the plaque; gently, but never take your gloves off."

Yoshe ran her fingers over the incomprehensible symbols, softly glowing the same colour as a halo. She knelt down and bowed her head. Ukimi and Kaori knelt on either side of her. The Communicator politely withdrew a few metres and waited like a statue, not intruding on anyone's grief.

"Where is she now, I wonder?" said Yoshe. She didn't expect a reply, and neither of the two other ladies had anything to add.

Hana knelt in front of them and said "I really am all right. I've picked you some flowers." She looked calm and happy. She no longer had a halo or wings, and was holding a bunch of blue roses. Then she wasn't there again.

"Hana..." cried Yoshe. Ukimi and Kaori held onto Yoshe, there was silence.

It turned out that the Communicator did not see Hana. He was silent when he heard about this from the ladies. They made their way back up to the temple and then the ladies walked back to Yoshe's home. They didn't say anything, there didn't seem to be anything to say.

"Hello honey, Kaori, Ukimi. I'll get you all a cup of tea." said Yoshe's husband, when they arrived at their home. He busied himself in the kitchen as the ladies sat at the dining room table.  
"There you are, one cup of tea each, plus some bikkies."  
There was silence from the ladies. They appeared to be looking at the flowers on the table.  
"That's strange, I don't recall you putting any flowers there this morning" said her husband. "And I thought you said there were no blue roses in Guri?"  
"There aren't" said Yoshe. "Hana picked these for me."  
"Oh"

Sometime later that night, in a windowless room carved from solid rock and lit by torches, a man sat himself heavily down on his chair at the head of a table. There were about half a dozen other men and women present. He ran his fingers through his hair and gratefully accepted a cup of tea.  
"With all due respects, sir, but wasn't that... Unusual?" said one of the others.  
"Well, if you read the history records, you will see something like that happened, oh, quite a few centuries ago."  
There as a silence.  
"But yes, it was unusual."  
"Why?" asked another. He was older, so didn't feel the need to be as polite as the first one.  
"I don't know. It just suddenly seemed very important to make sure that they accept that Hana has had a successful Day of Flight, and that there was nothing bad happening. Maybe something was speaking to me...?"

The following day Matsu greeted Kaori.  
"I'm truly sorry to have to do this," said Matsu, "But the Communicator has finally gotten around to asking me to remove Hana's and Kaze's name tags."  
He took the two tags, leaving a gap in the row, between Ukimi's tag and Komai's tag.  
"Do you want me to move the other tags up to cover the gap?"  
"No, just leave them for the time being."  
"Ok, bye for now."


	7. Chapter 7, Amo and Murasaki

No sooner had Kaori and Rakka and the others managed to get over their grief, most of it, than Yasaka had her own Day of Flight. For the twins Kasai and Jika, the only senior haibane now left who had been present at their hatching was Rakka. Consequently, when they went to the next Sunday dinner at Leyton House, they walked with Rakka in the middle and Kasai and Jika on either side, holding her hands. There were also present the seven no longer quite so young children, and Minato. Daiani and Komai were out on babysitting duties.

It was a sad dinner. However, older children and young teenagers being what they were, eventually they all disappeared outside to play. Kasai and Jika were a bit older, but they went outside also. What were they mostly playing?

"No, it's my turn to be the Communicator." the boy in question grabbed the cardboard face mask, put it over his face, and spoke in words of doom.  
"All good haibane must fly away one day!"  
Several children stood up, reached upwards, then flapped their arms and wings and 'flew' away. However some of the others clung to each other.  
"We don't want to go right now!"  
"But you must!" said the 'Communicator'.  
"No we won't, and you can't make us!"  
"Now let me be the Communicator!" A girl grabbed the mask from the boy.  
"Girls can't be Communicators, don't be ridiculous!"  
"They can so!"  
"Hey, stop fighting over the mask" said Jika. "Of course girls can be Communicators." Jika, being a girl, had a very firm opinion about this.  
Having established this important fact, the girl started to role play the Communicator.

Minato, and all of those older than her, had been sitting quietly in the lounge room, listening to this through the open windows.  
"Can a girl be a Communicator?" asked Rakka. "Personally I have trouble imagining it..."  
"I would hope a girl could do so," said Kaori, "I wouldn't want it to always be a man. Although I have to say that this Communicator was pretty decent in dealing with us ladies."  
"I think he is fine," said Ukimi, "remember you didn't have a very good start with the Communicator." she said to Kaori.  
"I know."  
"Is the Communicator a human or a haibane?" asked Yoshe.  
"Well, he can't be a haibane as he has only those fake wings... But how can a human get to know how to look after haibane like that?" said Kaori.  
They abandoned that topic, not having enough information to construct any theories.  
"Matsu removed Hana's and Kaze's name tags during the week." said Kaori.  
"I saw that as I passed the notice board." said Yoshe, "I couldn't help looking for a certain name..."  
"Which reminds me, we need to do a cocoon patrol today." said Ukimi.  
They found one.

The guests had gone home. The only ones present now where the normal occupants of Leyton House, plus Minato. They all knelt in a semi-circle around the little cocoon, about ten centimetres high, in one of the rooms on the top floor.  
"Another little haibane. Another Hana, or Rakka, or Ukimi, or someone. We shall be finding out in due course." said Kaori.

A little teenager girl, looking about fourteen, lay on the bed in the guest room. Still lacking wings and halo, she looked around in confusion. There was a smallish lady, in her late twenties, sitting on a chair next to her bed. And there were a three teenage girls and a teenage boy, standing behind her. She couldn't help noticing that, apart for the first lady, they all had little wings and glowing halos.  
"Hello, dear. At the moment you are all confused and don't know what's going on, but try not to worry, this is normal." said Kaori.  
"Can you remember a dream, before you hatched out of your cocoon?"  
"Before I hatched?"  
"Yes, before you hatched, and before you were floating around in water."  
The girl looked at her lap and eventually said "I remember being hungry. I was holding my baby but he was looking ill. I tried to feed him, but couldn't. That's all."  
"Huh?" said Kaori. "A fourteen year old girl being a mother?" she thought to herself.  
The others looked surprised, although not shocked. They didn't, after all, have Kaori's background knowledge of being human for over two and half decades.  
"Oh. Well, so you were a mother. Hmm, Amo is a word that means mother; could that be your name?"  
"Amo? I, but I have a name... Don't I?"

Eventually  
"Amo is my name. Thank you." said Amo.

Matsu turned up two days later.  
"A happy occasion, but still feeling sad, hey?" said Matsu.  
"Yeah. At least I don't get a chance to brood over things."  
"Would you like Amo's name tag to go where Hana's was, or where Kaze's was?"  
"Where Kaze's was. We all need to grieve a bit more for Hana." said Kaori.  
"And would you believe, we also have a new haibane. He's a couple of weeks old by now; we didn't say anything before since you were sort of busy. His name is Murasaki, means purple."  
"What was his cocoon dream?"  
"He was in a war zone, everywhere around him was desolation and destruction, and he was standing in the only green patch. There was a single purple flower."  
"That doesn't sound very good, and what is a war zone?"  
"We don't have a clue. Nor does Murasaki, except that it is a lot of ruins."  
Matsu prepared to go.  
"What sort of person is he?"  
Matsu hesitated slightly, and said "Well, he is basically a nice boy."  
Kaori put out her hand and halted Matsu in his path. Matsu might have been bigger and stronger than Kaori, but Kaori knew him well enough to know that she had the advantage here. "Basically? So does that mean he sometimes isn't so nice?"  
Sigh. "He is sometimes a handful. In fact, he sometimes acts up so much he drives the rest of us crazy."  
"Hmm. I don't think I can help you there, but I think I would like to be kept informed, if you may."  
"Ok", and with that Matsu was allowed to go.

A few days later there was the incident of the great chocolate biscuit theft. Well, actually not so great, and the culprit was identified immediately and readily confessed.  
"Sorry," said Daiani. "But I saw the remaining bikkies there and I just took them."  
"Well, they were supposed to be mine, you know." said Kaori, with just the smallest amount of anger in her voice. Actually, more like mild annoyance. But still, she was looking forward to eating them over tea, while reading her book.  
Ukimi was going to say that she could always make more, but Komai got in first.  
"Big brother, that's disgusting, how could you do that. They were Kaori's biscuits." She shook her finger at her brother, looking up since he was taller.  
"Yes, you shouldn't do that. You must stick to the rules and the rules were two biscuits each." This was Amo. She was also getting a bit worked up.  
Ukimi was again going to say that she could always make more, when she was beaten to it by Kaori.  
"Well, Daiani, just promise that..."  
"You can't just let him off with a little promise!" said Amo. "You must do it properly! Pass judgement on him and let everyone know!"  
While Kaori was working this one out, Daiani said "Ok, I am willing to do whatever, we must keep everyone happy."  
"Well," said Kaori, "In that case..." She thought of the children play acting the Communicator and Days of Flights. So what not play act a court session? Only she wouldn't call it play acting, of course. Besides which, she always liked the idea of judging people. It was the being judged bit that was uncomfortable.

"Ok, I call this session of the Leyton House nest judgement courts to order." They had hastily convened to the lounge room.  
"Ukimi can keep the records. Right?" Ukimi nodded, and got a piece of paper and pencil ready.  
"Now, Daiani, you are accused of stealing some chocky bikkies, to wit, my bikkies. Correct?"  
"That is so, madam."  
"We need a suitable punishment." said Kaori.  
"He should forego his next ration of bikkies." said Amo.  
"I agree." said Komai.  
"You are happy with that?" said Kaori to Daiani.  
"Seems fair to me." said Daiani.  
"Ok, Ukimi, please record that." Ukimi wrote it down on the piece of paper, put the date on it, then got Kaori to sign it.  
"This first session of Leyton House court is now adjoined."

Kaori decided to do the records properly. She fossicked around in her desk and found a scrap book. Ukimi stuck her sheet into the first page, and Kaori put the book in her book case.

The following night Ukimi made some more biscuits. Vanilla and walnut, with the occasional cherry. As per agreement, Daiani did not receive any from the baking tray. The others got three each (Ukimi had made heaps).  
"Here, brother, I'll give you half of mine." said Komai. She felt sorry for him.  
"But, but, he is supposed to be punished!" said Amo, "and here you are giving him yours."  
"He is being punished. But that doesn't mean I can't give mine to whomever I like." said Komai.  
"Here, I tell you what, how about I only eat the half biscuit, and give one back?" said Daiani.  
"Ok, that's now fair" said Amo.  
By coincidence, Ukimi had a coughing fit at the end of this exchange.

Kaori and Ukimi watched as the other three went up to their rooms. They heard three doors close, and they went to Kaori's room and closed the door.  
Kaori collapsed on her bed, laughing hysterically. Ukimi sat on the floor and gasped and laughed.  
"Oh, I, Judge Kaori, will judge you! No more chocolate biscuits!" Kaori waggled her finger at Ukimi. Ukimi laughed so hard she really did end up coughing.

They sat there in companionable silence.  
"It felt good to have a laugh for once. I wonder what you haibane will bring next?" said Kaori.

A week later, Daiani and Komai had a very local babysitting assignment. They invited Kaori and Amo along to visit them and the baby, after the parents had left. Komai held the baby as he wiggled and squirmed, and Kaori made goo-goo noises at it.  
"Do you want to hold the baby?" asked Komai, looking at Amo.  
Amo very hesitantly came close and extended her hand and very softly touched one finger to the baby's face. She then gasped, turned around and ran home.  
"Oh. I had better go too." said Kaori.

"Amo, dear, what is it?"  
Amo was in her bed, face down, sobbing into her pillow.  
"The baby. He reminded me of my own. My baby, in my cocoon dream. He wasn't ill, he was dead." she said.  
"Oh sh..." Kaori stopped herself from completing the sentence. "That's a really bad cocoon dream to have." Kaori stayed for a couple of hours, comforting Amo. Eventually Amo announced she was Ok, and came down for dinner. It was decided that Amo would not be seeking any jobs to do with babysitting. Instead, she soon found work as a runner in a warehouse. The front office would request a certain item, and Amo would go to the appropriate rack and shelf in the large warehouse and get the item. No babies involved. Sometimes she would have to actually run, if there was a customer waiting and they were in a hurry.

About this time Rakka had a little discussion with Kaori.  
"Minato has volunteered to be at the Old Home clock on the Sunday in every quarter when the clock apprentice from the Clock Tower does the maintenance."  
"Sounds like good news, frees you up to relax, or come here for the Sunday lunch, or whatever." said Kaori.  
"Have I mentioned before that this clock apprentice is a reasonably handsome older teenager human male?"  
"Ah, no, actually..."  
"I've had a chat with him at the clock tower once. He seems a very nice boy, very reserved though. Last time he checked the clock they sat on a bench and had a talk for an hour afterwards."  
"Well, the Communicator did say that each haibane must be free to choose who they become friends with..." said Kaori.  
"That's what he has told me, also."

* * *

A week later, Daiani and Komai took a little baby, and his older brother, to a local playground. Feeling like the exercise and not having much to do for once, Kaori had tagged along. It was still summer, just, and the day was warm and fine. She amused herself by holding the baby for a while, then playing with the older brother for a while. She was about to make her goodbyes and walk back to the house when she realised that there were some haibane on the jungle gym at the other side of the park. Out of simple curiosity she ambled over.  
It turned out to be Mado and Matsu, standing on the ground, and a young male teenage haibane Kaori had never seen before. He was wearing a purple shirt.  
"Just like Hana used to" she said to herself.  
He was currently sitting at the top of the steel climbing frame, three to four metres above the sand.  
"Hello Kaori!" said Matsu. "That monkey up there is Murasaki, our newest arrival."  
Both Mado and Matsu looked a little bothered and flustered.  
"We've been trying to leave to go back home, but Murasaki has other ideas." said Mado.  
Reading his body language, Kaori got the idea that Mado's spoken language hadn't been as polite as that in the moments before her arrival.  
"Look at me!" cried Murasaki. He lunged his body sideways and back again, hanging on with his arms, making the entire frame shake. Kaori had walked a little way under the frame and looked up at him. At this, Murasaki swung around, hooked his shoes into the frame cross members and dropped is body down. He looked at Kaori, upside down and said.  
"Hello Kaori! You're upside down now!"  
"Murasaki! Please come down!" said Matsu. He was getting annoyed; he clenched one fist and pointed a finger on his other hand at Murasaki.  
Kaori looked at his head, just above her head and upside down, looking at her. "Err, isn't that dangerous?" Probably an unwise thing to say to Murasaki, but this was the first time they had met.  
"It's perfectly safe. Look!" He proceeded to swing side to side and as he did so, his feet came out of his shoes and he began falling. Vertically, upside down, two metres to the sand.  
Kaori was built on the slight side when it came to her body. The sensible thing to have done was to step back out of his way and hope that he managed to rotate his body before landing. But Kaori must have left her sensible shoes at home or something; she stepped forward, reached out with both hands, grabbed his shoulders as he started to go past her and pulled them towards her. The sudden weight on her arms was much more than she had expected. Her feet slipped forwards through the sand and she fell backwards, landing completely flat on her back on the soft sand. This didn't, by itself, cause much damage, the sand was soft after all. However, Murasaki, under the impetus of Kaori's pull, had rotated until he was falling horizontal. He landed on her, flat out on his back. Their heads missed each other and he bounced off and sprawled on the sand, unharmed. He didn't even sprain his wings. Kaori, on the other hand, felt as if she had been hammered into the sand. She distinctly felt a couple of cracks in her back.  
"Oh shit" she said distinctly. Matsu was shocked; he had never heard Kaori swear before.  
She was filled with fear, had she broken her back? She cautiously wiggled her toes. They seemed to move normally.  
"Matsu, can you see my toes wiggling?"  
"Yes, no problems. Here, can I get you up?"  
"No! Don't touch me. I heard something break. Get a doctor, please!"  
Murasaki sat there, looking a Kaori. He looked horrified. Mado and Matsu ignored him, Matsu started running towards a service vehicle which had just parked in front of a nearby house. As Matsu entreated the driver to get him to the hospital, Mado and Daiani, who had run over, did their best to get Kaori comfortable, without moving her.

A couple of hours later.  
"Well, young lady," said the doctor, who was twice Kaori's age, "you're very lucky. Normally you can't expect to act as a trampoline for somebody of Murasaki's weight without suffering severely, however all you seem to have is a couple of broken ribs. Must have been the soft sand cushioning your fall. All you have to put up with is a bandaged trunk for a month or so. You must do you utmost not to put any strain on your ribcage, until the ribs had repaired themselves. So you will have to get someone to help you sit and stand and lie down. But you can walk yourself, cautiously."  
Kaori felt extremely annoyed. She glared at Murasaki, who was one of the haibane standing around her bed. "Next time bounce off Matsu, Ok? He's bigger than me."  
Murasaki withered under her gaze. "Sorry"  
"So you should be! And since you are right here, you can help me sit up. Doctor, could you please show him how I am supposed to sit up without doing myself in?"  
The doctor obliged.

Kaori was now sitting, very upright, in a straight back chair. Murasaki was hovering behind; looking like a dejected dog whose master was totally ignoring him.  
Matsu and Mado looked at each other with thoughtful expressions.  
"I hope I can eat in this condition." said Kaori.  
"No problems," said the doctor. "Of course you won't eat as much. Also, I need to mention that once that body bandage is off you are going to have to do exercises to build up your back muscles again. In fact, you are going to be lifting weights, just like the body builders do."  
"What!"  
"But, in your case, the weights will be considerably lighter. If you want to regain your strength that is what you will have to do."  
"What a nuisance. But, ok, I shall follow your instructions." Kaori was not keen on being an invalid, she was still young.  
"Murasaki! Make yourself useful! Get me a sandwich from the nearest canteen!" Kaori was really feeling annoyed and let it show. Murasaki scrambled to comply with her request.  
While Murasaki was gone, Kaori managed to control herself.  
"Sorry, Mado, maybe I shouldn't have snapped at him like that. I think he probably is basically a nice boy, just like you said. But, ah, sometimes I have a bit of a temper."  
"Hmm, we need to think about this. Maybe being your servant for a while will be just what he needs to get his head straight." said Matsu.  
"We're going to have to report this to the Communicator, since someone got damaged. Perhaps he can go home with you for the afternoon, and we'll pick him up after tea. I think I'll go straight to the temple, they might have some ideas." said Mado.

So Murasaki was Kaori's servant for the afternoon. He helped her stand and sit at the table, and escorted her around the house. Of course, Ukimi, when she came home from her work, was the one to help Kaori change her clothes and have a wash. Minato came home from the Tyre factory and was dismayed at Kaori's accident. Daiani and Komai returned from finishing their babysitting, and Komai in particular was incensed at Murasaki's actions. Finally Amo came home, she was furious at Murasaki.  
"He should be judged, and a lot more severely than Daiani was!" was her reaction.  
"Yes, he hurt our Kaori, he should get a suitable punishment!" said Komai.  
"Whoa, don't go overboard quite yet," said Daiani.  
"Why not?" said Amo.  
"Well, ah, we need to make sure that this is what judge Kaori wants to do, and maybe, since this is a capital case, we need the Communicator in on the deal."  
Daiani was improvising on the spot, but the result wasn't all that bad.  
On the one hand, Kaori was suffering and it hadn't improved her temper. On the other hand, having become a more mellow person due to the influence of Ukimi, she didn't want to go overboard either. After an internal struggle, she managed to moderate her emotions. She would try to take a course action that benefitted everybody.  
"Well, I would like to point out that while I'm inconvenienced, it's not too bad. At least I don't have both hands bandaged and continual pain. But, I agree, a session of the Leyton House court is definitely indicated." At this stage Kaori became aware that they had an extra audience, Mado and Matsu had arrived and had been listening to this discussion.  
"Hi everyone. We have visited the Communicator and he is sufficiently concerned that he has decided to visit us here tomorrow evening. He also suggests, if it is agreeable with Kaori, that Murasaki stays here until Kaori no longer needs assistance."  
That was all right with Kaori. He could sleep in the room next to hers. If she wanted assistance she could bang on the wall, and Murasaki could either help her directly, or run upstairs and get Ukimi to help.

Kaori woke in the middle of the night. Her back and sides ached, not painfully, but annoyingly. She wiggled a bit to get into a different position, and then banged on the wall.  
"Ah, Murasaki, could you get me a glass of water please?"  
"Yes." He came back soon, and waited while Kaori had a drink, without getting up from her bed.  
"Mother Kaori, I, I wish to apologise for hurting you like that. Especially since it was your actions in saving me that caused you pain." He had the dejected and miserable dog look on his face again.  
She waited a few moments for the greatest impact, and then said, "I accept your apology. Perhaps we can work together to improve things." She was trying to be as positive as possible.  
"Thank you, thank you."  
Kaori remembered Matsu's little talk about Murasaki.  
"What was your cocoon dream?"  
"I dreamt I was in a war zone. All around me were smoking ruins, burnt out buildings, dead trees. I was standing in a small patch of the only grass in sight, and in front of me was a single small purple flower. And when I fell on you and bounced off and saw you lying there, I had an extra memory. There were bright red-orange flashes and explosions, one after the other, and they were coming closer to where I was." As he recited this, Murasaki appeared as if he was shrinking within himself, he crouched down and put his arms over his head as in a futile attempt to protect himself.  
"There was no-one else, I was alone." he finished with.  
"Oh" Kaori couldn't think of anything suitable to say after that.  
"I thought that Ukimi had a painful birth into this world, but at least she had a peaceful dream of floating in an ocean. This is much worse." she said to herself.  
"Look, you still need to have an official judgement and all of that, but let's say we try our best to help you work through terrors. Is that a deal?"  
She held out her hand. He shook it, "It's a deal."

Matsu and Mado had gone back to the temple the following morning, and had an extra talk with the Communicator. Then they went back, and called upon Kaori just as Murasaki was helping her to sit down for her morning tea.  
Mado looked at Kaori with a meaningful look.  
"Ah, I think they want to talk just to me. So could you go outside and start chopping some wood? Winter is going to be upon us soon."  
"We told the Communicator about your little judge sessions, and he is agreeable to granting his authority to you next court case." said Mado.  
"Obviously he must think that what you are doing is the best under the circumstances." said Matsu.  
"That is certainly a boost to my ego. Ok, that's what we will be doing."

The second judgement of the Leyton House court was held that evening. Murasaki, the defendant, had to help Kaori, the judge, to her seat at the head of the table. The court secretary, Ukimi, was sitting at her side, pen and paper ready. The defendant sat in a chair to the right of the judge, somewhat to one side and separated from the others. Present were Mado and Matsu, representing Stone Mill, Rakka, representing Old Home, and Michibi, representing the Abandoned Factory. The audience comprised of all the haibane who lived, either full time or part time, at Leyton House. And standing at the end of the table was the Communicator, granting his considerable authority to the proceedings. He tapped his staff on the floor.  
Kaori read out the charges, "Acting out without regard for other's safety, thus causing injury to a bystander, to wit, me."  
Murasaki admitted to being guilty as charged.  
He made a formal apology, "I apologise to Kaori, and to Leyton House and my seniors and the Communicator, for causing her distress."  
Mado made a presentation to the court, "We suggest that Murasaki live at Leyton House, and be Kaori's servant, in so far as she wants, until she is better."  
Kaori added a little, "Since you are showing repentance, I and the rest of my nest will do our best to help you become a better person."  
Kaori nodded at the Communicator.  
"If this is the wish of the court, then so be it." He tapped his staff on the ground to mark the finish, bowed slightly to everyone, turned and departed.  
"Right. The court is adjourned. Murasaki, if you can help me to the kitchen table. Ukimi, if you can bring out your cake, I would like to welcome our visitors to a little evening snack."

This made an impression on Murasaki. It also made an impression on Komai, and an even bigger one upon Amo. From that day on she regarded Kaori's judging to have the direct authority of the Communicator.

Rakka and Minato walked back to Old Home. Minato was still dividing her time equally between the two nests, but she varied the schedule depending on the situation.  
"So now Kaori is working with the Communicator! I'm impressed! At both of them." said Rakka.

And later that evening, as Ukimi helped Kaori into her pyjamas.  
"Wow, how about that. I now have the Communicator giving me his direct authority to judge haibane. Talk about moving up in the world!" said Kaori.  
"Yes," said Ukimi with a smile, "Haven't you gone a long way?"

Matsu returned the next day. "How about I put Murasaki's name tag after Amo's? We can leave Hana's location alone for the time being."  
Kaori was agreeable.

Kaori got better. Murasaki was no longer needed as a servant, but he expressed a desire to stay at Leyton House. Kaori, feeling kindly towards him, now that he was behaving much more nicely, said yes. He stayed in the bedroom next to Kaori's, but the only extra help he gave Kaori now was setting up the weight lifting equipment for her. He had begged a minimal set from the Abandoned Factory; they gave him a bar and some very light weights. One of their haibane, who did weight lifting, also came over and gave Kaori some instruction. So now, twice a week, Kaori lifted weights. She had grumbled a bit about having to do all of this, but was so dismayed at how weak she had became that she set to and applied herself to her new hobby. She started with a broomstick and moved slowly up to the sorts of weights that your average teenager weight lifter could lift with a finger of one hand. But to her, it was heavy. She slowly regained her strength.

Winter had set in. Mornings announced themselves with weak sunlight through frosted windows, if the sunlight could be seen at all. Daiani and Komai continued their baby sitting, going out into the cold and wet to their next job, well rugged up. Ukimi organised the making of wing covers for everyone, she also continued with her postage deliveries. Minato still worked at the Tyre and Bike factory, although she missed the company of Yasaka. She also was still alternating between living at the two nests. Amo became a full time worker at the warehouse, and seemed to get over her cocoon dream. Murasaki, under the care of Kaori, calmed right down and was, just as Matsu said, basically a nice boy. He found work in a hothouse, growing vegetables for winter consumption.

Kaori occasionally had to have a court session, but none of the cases were serious, they were just the product of a group of teenagers living together in the same house. Kaori mothered Ukimi, and Ukimi, merely by being Ukimi, polished Kaori's personality. Kaori had moved a fair distance from what she was when she first met Rakka. In the future she would be moving a good deal more.


	8. Chapter 8, Yoshe and Kumiko

Yoshe signed the receipt, and picked up the crate. It contained a portrait painting of her husband, commissioned by her husband's parents. The painter had finished it, and it was now going to be shipped all the way across the Guri farm lands to Guri's only current picture framer.  
"Shall I get my boy to drive it to Guri's Logistics tomorrow morning, so they can send it on?" said the painter.  
Yoshe hefted the crate. It wasn't all that heavy, but still it was cold outside and it would be easier to wait until tomorrow. But, for some reason, she found herself saying.  
"Thanks, but I'll just walk it over now. It's fine outside at the moment."

She took a direct shortcut through the industrial area, walking pass factories and warehouses and sheds and down back lanes and even took a shortcut through the back yard of a shop. It was on the other side of this yard that she stopped, and carefully put the crate down. It might be cold, but she was sweating from the exertion.  
"Why on Guri didn't I just get his son to deliver it?" Her neat but stylish dress, suitable for presenting herself as a professional florist, was damp from perspiration. And as she rested, she heard voices.  
"Leave me alone, you ****!" this sounded like a teenager's voice, probably a girl.  
"Nobody can hear us! I can tease you as much as I like!" this sounded like a man's voice.  
"Oh, can you?" said Yoshe. She looked around, determined that the voices were coming from the bottom of an embankment and around a corner. The whole area was a junk yard, with stuff piled everywhere. She clambered down the slope, getting mud on her dress and scuffing it.  
There was a sudden bellow of rage from the man. "Ouch, why, you little *****"  
Yoshe put some speed on, and got to the bottom of the slope, losing only a couple of buttons from her dress in the process.  
There was a cry of rage from the teenager, then "Aargh, stop, you're hurting me! Stop pulling my halo!"  
"A haibane?" By now Yoshe as running and dodging around piles of junk, triangulating on the voices.  
There was the sound of a man's laughter.  
She ran around a tall stack of bricks, and saw:  
A middle aged man, on the small side, pinning down a haibane girl onto the ground with his foot on her chest. She was about Hana's age. One of man's hands was gripping the girl's halo and pulling back hard. The girl had her head stretched up and forward at an angle, being pulled along by the halo. She wasn't taking it calmly either. She was trying to kick his legs and punch his face, and she was swearing like a trooper. Although they didn't have troopers in Guri.  
With a final wrench the halo came off. The girl collapsed with all signs of fight gone. She wailed and begged for her halo back. The man straightened up and held the halo like a trophy. It had dimmed and was barely showing any light.  
"So, these things come off, do they?"  
At this point, somewhere deep inside Yoshe's brain, in her self control centre, a circuit breaker glowed cherry red and vaporised in a cloud of molten metal. Yoshe, her face twisted into rage and as red as her hair, her teeth bared in a snarl, her eyes glowing red, stepped forward, grabbed the halo out of his hand and with her other hand slapped him as hard as she could manage. She bent her fingers slightly and was gratified to see a couple of red tracks across his face, from her nails.  
"You touch the girl one more time and I'll kick you so hard between the legs that the Toga will hear you on the other side of the wall."  
Her eyes were figuratively glowing red. If they had been literally glowing, they would have left scorch marks on his face.  
The man stared back in shock and anger.  
"Why you little *****, I could kill you!"  
"I have a husband, and by the time he and his martial arts friends are finished with you, the watchmen will have to clean you off the floor with mops and buckets!"  
He hadn't expected any witnesses, and had been dismayed when Yoshe showed up. So he hadn't reacted with violence immediately. The small delay allowed him to hear some previously ignored voices at the back of his mind. Voices telling himself that he may have gone too far this time. The more he delayed the louder and more definite these voices became. He really had gone too far this time. He made a face at Yoshe, backed away and left.  
"Good riddance!" yelled Yoshe. Or words to that effect.  
The girl was a pathetic heap on the ground, crying and shaking.  
Yoshe knelt down and with her free hand lifted the girl's head and back so that she was cradling her.  
"How do I put this thing back on?"  
"You have to do it the right way", sobbed the girl. She told Yoshe what to say.

So Yoshe held the girl's head in left arm, her body across her lap, and with her right hand placed the girl's halo back above her head, while saying  
"To my companion Kumiko, in that hope that this will light and show you the way, I grant you this halo."  
And as the halo got closer to its proper position, it began to glow as normal. It gave a faint whistle and settled into place. Yoshe gently perturbed the halo with her finger, it floated back into place.  
"There now, it's back in its proper place."  
The girl clutched Yoshe's jacket and cried. Yoshe bent over and kissed her on the forehead - and got poked in the eye by the halo.  
"Ouch!"  
Kumiko, visibly recovering by the second, laughed.  
"It happens all the time with us."  
Yoshe cradled the girl for a little bit more, they looked into each other's eyes.  
"Oh, my name is Yoshe."  
"Thanks, Yoshe. Ok, I'm better now."  
They stood up and tried to brush off the dirt. Kumiko wasn't wearing anything too special, and she didn't seem to mind all that much the dirt on it. Her jumper had the impression of the man's boot, which must have been covered in mud.  
Yoshe's dress was a different matter. In Yoshe's opinion it was probably ruined, only good now for wearing while cleaning out the dirt from the grout between the tiles on the bathroom floor.  
"Oh well, I can always get another dress."  
Almost without noticing it, Kumiko had taken Yoshe's hand in hers.  
Yoshe gave a sudden start. "Damn, my crate is still where I left it! I hope."

They scrambled up the embankment, Kumiko helping the older and heavier Yoshe. Her dress got even more damage.  
"Probably fit only for rags by now." said Yoshe.  
Her crate was still there.  
"Yoshe, could you please escort me back to the Abandoned Factory? I'm frightened I might meet that, that..." Kumiko wasn't sure that she could swear in front of Yoshe, who in Kumiko's opinion was obviously a real lady. Granted, she had heard Yoshe swearing at the man, but that was in extreme circumstances.  
"That ********, you mean?"  
"Yes! That's the word!"  
"Sure. Show me the way. And if you can help me carry the crate, it should be easier."

They were now in the Abandoned Factory's messroom. Yoshe noted that it could also equally be called the mess room. Since Yoshe's husband was the main driving force behind keeping their home clean, Yoshe didn't have any problems with the mess. Kumiko, now completely recovered, was proudly showing of the front of her jumper, with the outline of a boot, and recounting the story of how Yoshe had thoroughly humiliated a ******** who had dared to yank off her halo.  
The Factory haibane were aghast at the man's treatment of Kumiko, but very appreciative of Yoshe's help. The girls had clapped and the boys hollered with joy at what Yoshe had said to the man, and how she had slapped him. They were silent when Kumiko recounted the halo re-attachment ceremony.  
"We like your style!" said Yuki.  
"You're welcome to visit Kumiko anytime!" said Michibi.  
"And so good looking also!" said one of the older male haibane.  
The other males agreed, while the girls rolled their eyes: "Men!"  
Yoshe took this in her stride. In her life as an attractive woman she had become an expert in sorting out the compliments from the harassments.  
She laughed, and said to Yuki: "Yep, men!"  
"Hey, aren't you that florist who gave Hana a scarf?" said Machi.  
"Yes, that's right."  
"We like you even better than before!" said Yuki.

Finally Yoshe had said she had to get the crate to Guri Logistics. She had an instant show of hands from the male haibane, volunteering to carry it.  
"Guys, I'm sure you only want to help because she helped Kumiko" said Yuki.  
"Of course!"  
"But you do realise that after we drop of the crate and made sure Yoshe gets to wherever she is going in safety, we have to go on to the temple?"  
"Huh...yes, that's right. This has to be reported." said Michibi.  
"And I will have to go to the watch house and make a formal complaint." said Yoshe.

Machi and Michibi and Yuki escorted Kumiko and Yoshe to the Guri's Logistics, with the boys carrying the crate. Then Yoshe went to the nearby watch house and the haibane made their way to the temple.

* * *

Guri was a small place. There wasn't much of a need for a bureaucracy, and any need was made even smaller by the fact that the Renmei controlled the trade with the Toga, and thus by extension exerted considerable influence on the affairs of the humans. So things could move fast when needed.  
By mid-morning the following day the court case was heard.  
The man stood in the dock, looking considerably less threatening than he had on the previous day. The Communicator stood to one side of the judge's bench. Any court case that involved a haibane automatically involved the Communicator. A human judge led the proceedings; half a dozen humans sitting in a group were the advisors. They weren't jurors, not really, but they could state their opinions. Members of the public, including all of the Factory haibane not being called up as witnesses, sat in rows of seats in the public area. Megumi, the watch house haibane, was present, as was Rakka. Rakka didn't really want to be here, but she did so out of a sense of duty, since the victim could just as easily been one of her charges. Matsu and Mado and others from the Stone Mill were present. And Kaori, Ukimi, Daiani, Komai and Amo were present.  
Yoshe was called up and gave her story. A watchman verified that when she had showed up her dress showed signs of climbing up and down the embankment. The accused man was made to stand up and a doctor pointed out the twin tracks on his face, left by two of Yoshe's nails after she had slapped him.  
Kumiko was called up and gave her story. She was only slightly intimidated by the proceedings, and repeated what Yoshe had said, including all of her swear words.  
A watchman held up her jumper from yesterday, with the clear impression of a boot on it.  
It was revealed that the man had a long history of mild harassment cases, some including haibane, and had previously received a warning that he was very close to the limit tolerated by Guri.  
There was never any doubt. The human judge conferred with the Communicator in private, then came out and announced:  
"You are to be banished to outside Guri. This sentence to be carried out at the time of the next Toga visit."  
The man sagged even more that he had before.  
The court was adjourned.

Amo had seen the Communicator and the human judge conferring, and handing out the most severe punishment they had. She had also seen the Communicator at the Leyton House court case involving Murasaki. This just reinforced her belief that Kaori was almost as powerful as the Communicator. When Kaori realised this, from what Amo was saying, she shrugged her shoulders.  
"Well, I don't actually have any power at all, but if that is what she believes, and so be it." she said, speaking to Ukimi later on.

On the designated day the haibane gathered well away from the wall and on a slightly elevated area. They could easily see the Toga and the gate, but were not in anyone's way. Yoshe was present, with her husband. Everyone noticed that Kumiko held Yoshe's hand, but nobody called any attention to this. There were a lot of humans gathered too. Banishments were very rare in Guri.  
Eventually the watch vehicle drove over to the last of the Toga, waiting in front of the gate. The Communicator waited. The watchmen escorted the man out of the vehicle and left him there, standing still and looking downwards. One of the Toga approached him and directed him to follow, they walked through the gate and then it was closed and locked from the outside. The Communicator turned and walked away, and everyone began to disperse.

"Well," said Michibi, "I thought I would enjoy that. But I didn't."  
"Yes," said Yuki. "He deserves it, but he looked like he was in shock."  
"I think he must have been a moderately decent man, but prone to an occasional streak of uncontrolled mayhem" said Ukimi. She had been thinking about this ever since seeing him in the dock last week.  
Kaori spoke to Matsu and Mado when no one else was near. "Perhaps he didn't have anyone to pull him up when he over reacted as a teenager, like Murasaki has me and you two?"  
"Certainly a possibility." said Matsu.

Yuki as talking to Michibi. "I think that Kumiko has a new senpai. She was heartbroken when Ame left recently."  
"I think so to." said Michibi, "and if she has to pick a human, she certainly picked a good one."  
"Is my idea of why she is good the same as yours?" said Yuki, raising her eyebrows a bit.  
"Of course! How could they differ?" said Michibi, putting as much affront as he could muster into his expression.  
"Well, whatever, none of us have any problems with her being Kumiko's senpai."

A bit later, Michibi said in passing to Yoshe. "And did you get back the framed painting of your husband."  
"No. The ******* ******** ********* at Guri's Logistics, or someone, managed to lose the crate. In Guri, mind you, as if we were a huge country. Gone without trace." said Yoshe. She sounded more than just slightly annoyed.  
Both Michibi and Kumiko were shocked at this swearing. They hadn't realised there were swear words that they didn't know. The resolved to remember them and find out what they meant. They were both Abandoned Factory haibane, and thus almost duty bound to know all the words. Although they suspected that these ones might be a bit extreme even by Factory standards.

* * *

A few days later Kumiko invited Yoshe over for lunch at the Factory. Kumiko gave Yoshe a guided tour of various parts of the factory, with the assistance of the male haibane, with Yuki tagging along to make sure that the males behaved themselves. In Yoshe's opinion the Abandoned Factory should have been left abandoned, it was a terrible place overall for living in. Although, she had to admit, they had put a lot of effort making the living quarters liveable. Kumiko's room was, err, a slight mess, but it was cosy and kept out the rain while letting in the sun through a window. The bathroom areas were perfectly functional and kept clean and hygienic. The messroom might have been a mess, but the adjoining kitchen was also functional and tidy. She wasn't too impressed by all of the walkways and bridges and open to the sky passages between the various parts of their living areas and bedrooms, but they were reasonably safe. The tour ended at The Retreat, the highest enclosed functional room at the Factory, which overlooked the local factory district and had a view of the surrounding farm lands and part of the wall.  
Yoshe and Kumiko sat on the Retreat's sofa, facing the picture window. Right now the sun was shining out of a clear light green sky, lighting up a winter bound Guri. Patches of snow glittered from the roof tops of nearby factories and buildings, and the distant farm lands were a mottled grey colour, from snow that had been sitting there for a few days.  
"At times, we have all reserved this room and come up here for a bit of solitude. Personally I always do my sewing here." said Yuki. "Kumiko's original senpai, Ame, also did her sewing up here."  
"Yes, and look, I'll show you where Ame once escaped from the monster!" Kumiko jumped up, opened the window, leant out a little and pointed.  
Yoshe looked out also.  
"See those handle like bars welded on the side? That broken one is the one Ame snapped off when she climbed around the outside to escape." said Kumiko.  
Yoshe, and everybody else in Guri, certainly remembered the incident that happened after that.  
"It was before my time, but." said Kumiko.

In return, Yoshe invited Kumiko over for tea at her place. Kumiko made a trip to the thrift shop to buy something special to wear. She turned up at Yoshe's house in an almost new dress and a shawl that had been carefully repaired to hide its holes, and shoes that she had spent time polishing (and painting the scruff marks so that they matched the normal surface).  
"My, you are dressed up tonight!" said Yoshe.  
Kumiko looked pleased and posed on one side then the other. "Yes, I brought it just for tonight. I had to use two pages of my Renmei booklet!"  
"We are honoured!" said Yoshe's husband. Kumiko had already met him at both the court house and the banishment.

"Did you know Hana?" asked Yoshe.  
"Only slightly. I was mainly friends with Dai and some of the other boys. I also like Rakka; she often visits us at the Factory. And Yasaka, who was good friends with Ame. Of course, both Yasaka and Ame have had their Days..." Kumiko looked down at her plate and was silent for a while.  
Sigh. "Yes, we both know all about that sort of thing." said Yoshe. Her husband nodded in agreement.  
"Have you ever done flower arrangements?" said Yoshe.  
"Actually, no, ah"  
"That's fine. Everybody's different." said Yoshe.

At the end of the evening Kumiko gave Yoshe a big hug and she gave the husband a small hug.

Later that night, in bed.  
"You now love another haibane, don't you?" said her husband.  
"Yes. I certainly didn't ask for it, but once I saw that man yank off her halo..."  
"I'm not arguing, I would have done the same thing in your position. Except that the man wouldn't have been able to walk afterwards..."  
"I just hope she lasts longer here in Guri than Hana did."  
There was nothing to be said after that.

There were several other visits, and Kumiko visited Yoshe at her florist shop, in the next few weeks.

And then...

Ding, went Yoshe's front door bell. Yoshe, having got tea ready and wondering why her husband wasn't home yet, answered it. There were two watchmen, with solemn looks on their faces. And behind them where her two next door neighbours, two older ladies, also looking very serious. She looked at the watchmen and read their body language.  
"No, please no..."  
"I'm sorry, madam, but we have to report that your husband was killed in an industrial accident this afternoon." said the senior watchman.  
They both stepped forward smartly and caught Yoshe as she sagged and collapsed. They carried her inside, gently placed her onto the sofa, and then left her to the care of the next door neighbours. A few hours later the husband's parents arrived, Yoshe's parents had passed away some time ago. The following 24 hours was a dazed blur for Yoshe.

"Oh ****" said Yuki. "I had better break the news to Kumiko." Megumi had paid the Factory a visit the following night, to make sure that Kumiko was informed.  
Yuki went back to the messroom, where everybody was having tea.  
"Kumiko, I have some very sad news. Yoshe's husband was killed in an accident yesterday."  
Kumiko was shocked into silence for a moment, and then she put down her spoon and got up.  
"Sorry, everyone, I have to leave now."  
"Bye bye" said everyone.

Kumiko was shocked again, this time at the appearance of Yoshe. The strong, confident woman who had chased off a bully now looked as if she was ill, there were crease lines on her face that Kumiko didn't think were there previously, her skin was greyish, she slumped in her chair, even her clothes looked dull and depressed. Kumiko hugged her, and Yoshe sort of hugged her back, but she seemed dazed and not really all that responsive.  
"Yoshe! I'm really sorry!" cried Kumiko.  
"Yes, I..."  
"Kumiko," said one of the ladies also present, who had been looking after Yoshe, "The doctor gave her some sort of shot which dulls the grief for a while, so she's not really with it at the moment."  
Kumiko continued to hold Yoshe, patting her back.  
The other lady spoke. "I've made a meal. You could try to get her to eat something. She probably won't eat much, so you can have some too, if you need."  
Kumiko managed to guide Yoshe to the kitchen table, and coaxed her to eat a very small portion. Kumiko also ate some herself, since she had been half way through her meal at the Factory.  
The two ladies saw how Kumiko was looking after Yoshe, looked at each other, and one said:  
"Kumiko, I'm getting old and have difficulty looking after her, while her next door neighbour has to look after her grandchildren, do you think you can stay the night and look after Yoshe? She really can't be left alone in this state, what with her grief and the effects of the drug."  
So Kumiko stayed the night. Yoshe really was doped, and had to be continually monitored. So Yoshe dragged in the mattress from the spare bedroom, and slept on the floor of Yoshe's bedroom.

The funeral came and went. Yoshe recovered, sort of. After a couple of weeks she was able to run her florist shop, and after a month she managed to sleep through the night without waking up in the middle and crying. And Kumiko just stayed on. She moved into the spare bedroom, the others at the Factory helped to bring her few possessions (mainly clothes and some books) over. She didn't bother to ask the Communicator, either.

"And these are his martial arts trophies. Most he won when he was younger, of course. He always complained that as he got older the younger whipper-snappers kept getting faster and stronger." Yoshe was showing to Kumiko the contents of her husband's office.  
Yoshe sat on her husband's swivel chair and spun herself around a few times, then slumped with her head in her arms on the desk.  
"I'm probably boring you at this stage." She had described the contents of his room to Kumiko half a dozen times now.  
Kumiko patted Yoshe's back. "It's Ok, you can keep explaining. It took me a long time to recover from Ame's departure, and a haibane's Day of Flight is a lot better than a human's death."  
"My human friends are wonderful, but they all have their own lives, and children and grandchildren." said Yoshe, "So I really thank you for your presence."  
After a silence, "And that was where the painting was to go." Yoshe pointed to a blank area on the wall, next to the trophy shelves. "Goodness knows where the crate ended up at."  
And as Yoshe and Kumiko looked at the blank wall, a small globe lit up inside Kumiko's head. "Hmm, I wonder if..."

Kumiko had a part time job sweeping floors in a factory. It started in the afternoon and extended until just before tea time. So next morning, after Yoshe had gone to work, she took advantage of her free time to pay a visit to Leyton House. She had spent a sleepless night trying to work out how to approach her task, and had decided that the best option was to get help from another human, Kaori specifically.  
"You know how Yoshe's painting got lost somewhere? Going by what Yoshe has said, Guri Logistics turned their place upside down looking for it, and sent letters out to all of the places they sent parcels to. But my idea is that the crate with the painting must have been sent to one of those places, and once there it was wrongly stored away without anyone noticing anything was remiss. So when they were contacted by the people from Logistics, they honestly said they didn't know anything. But what if I can get a list of each possible destination, and actually go out there and ask to check where ever they might store such a parcel by accident?"  
"Hmm, so you want to help Yoshe, yes?" Kaori sat and thought about it for a while.  
"Well, for a start, you need to get a list of the possible destinations from the Logistics place. And you look like a thirteen year old girl. But that's no problem; I will lend my age and maturity to the request. Hopefully that will be sufficient."  
"As for rocking up at each location and asking to look around their store rooms, that could be a problem. Well, I suppose we can tackle that on a case by case basis. I can accompany you to some of the local ones, I can write a letter to the ones further out..." Kaori thought a bit more. "And, possibly, I can get the Renmei's accountant; he's a human that works in town, to also write some introductory letters. By now we are on first name terms." A bit more thought, "I could also ask for some help from Sumika and her husband, her husband was actually friends with Yoshe's husband."  
"Oh Kaori, thank you!" Kumiko gave Kaori a hug. Kumiko was definitely the hugging kind.

The list from Guri's Logistics was 72 locations long. Half of them were in town, and the rest were spread out over the entire farming district. Kaori and Kumiko sat down with this list and, using Kaori's knowledge of Guri and its people, began to work out how to tackle each location. Some could be visited by Kaori and Kumiko, and rapidly ruled out. For some places Kaori or one of her contacts would write an introductory letter, and after the people had replied Kumiko would go out and do her check. Some of the places did their own check, and managed to convince Kumiko that the crate wasn't there. And, of course, the further away the place was, the longer the time it took for Kumiko to get out there and back. So they started with the closest places.  
After 61 futile checks, and four weeks later, Kumiko was beginning to get extremely weary of the whole thing. Half the locations simply had no place where an errant crate could end up without being noticed. Most of the others were rapidly eliminated as possibilities. But getting to them and back was a real pain. As the distance lengthened, Kumiko had to catch the bus out and a bus back, or grab rides with friendly farmers and delivery people. But she decided she would check every last damn place on the list before giving up.  
The 62nd location to check was a farm, all the way out to the other side of Guri. So on a Saturday she told Yoshe that she was going to make an all day visit to the Factory, and she caught the bus out.  
"Ah, you're the haibane who wants to find that parcel?" said the little old lady that answered the farm house door. "Sorry I can't help you do any searching, as you can see I'm getting on a bit. My husband died some months ago and things have become chaotic around here."  
"I'm sorry to hear that, madam." said Kumiko. Privately she was thinking that this would be a likely place for a parcel to get lost.  
The little old lady led Kumiko to one of the rooms of her house.  
"But please feel free to conduct a search yourself. If any parcel had arrived, it would have probably been put into my husband's office and store room." She opened the door.  
It certainly was a store room, one side was a haphazard collection of boxes and junk, the other side had a desk and some filing cabinets crammed in. And there, under a pile of books, was Yoshe's crate.

Kumiko hugged it to her chest all the way back to Guri on the bus. The bus stopped close to Leyton House, so that is where Kumiko carried the crate. She also found the crate to be awkward to carry by herself.  
"Kaori, I've found it! I've found it!"  
"That's good! If you like I can get Murasaki and Daiani to carry it to Yoshe's house."  
"Actually, I've been thinking, maybe it can wait another couple of days, and we can..." she spoke further about her plan.

Two days later, in the afternoon, Kumiko made her way to the florist shop.  
"Hello Yoshe, I've decided to walk home with you tonight."  
"Why, thanks. Why the special treatment?"  
"Cause I have arranged some of my friends to give you something. They're all waiting at your house."  
"Really? What on Guri for?"  
"It's a surprise."

They arrived home. The living room was crowded with Kaori, and half of the Leyton House haibane, and half of the Factory haibane. There was also something covered in a sheet lying on the table.  
"Yoshe, please sit at this chair facing the table." said Kumiko, who stood next to her and put one arm around her shoulder.  
"Sure" she was, looking very puzzled.  
"To my fellow companion Yoshe, in the hope that this will remind you of your days with you husband, I present to you this painting." And as Kumiko spoke, she removed the sheet on the table, to show the painting, in its brand new frame, of Yoshe's husband.  
"You found the painting! That's wonderful!" Yoshe started crying. She also tried to kiss Kumiko, but got her eye poked by Kumiko's halo.  
"This damn halo!"  
Everybody laughed.

By now it was two months after her husband's death. Yoshe was nowhere near full recovery, but she was functional. She was also finding that living at the house she had shared with her husband for two decades was beginning to be too much. She was reminded of her husband by everything in the house. His study. The table they had shopped for, and he had varnished. The side window he had broken when he kicked over a ladder. Their bed...  
It was all too much to be reminded of on a continual basis. She had a talk with Kaori.  
"Perhaps I and Kumiko can move to Leyton House? I can pay board and lodging for myself, and the Renmei can support Kumiko as they should be at the moment, anyway, but aren't because Kumiko has never formally notified the Communicator about her change of address."  
So Yoshe and Kumiko moved to Leyton House. Yoshe took one of the vacant ground floor rooms, and Kumiko took the room that Hana and Kaze once shared.

With Yoshe and Kaori looking on, Matsu took the two new name tags out of his tool box.  
"What say I put Yoshe's on the hook next to Murasaki, and Kumiko's onto the hook that was once Hana's?"  
Both Yoshe and Kaori nodded at this, and it was done.  
"Only one spare hook left! Unfortunately we never know what the future may bring, or take away, so..." said Matsu. He waved goodbye and left.

Tadashi and his girlfriend moved into Yoshe's house. Daiani and Komai met them moving their stuff in as they helped Yoshe move some of her stuff out.  
"Hello!" said Daiani to Tadashi. "Is this the young lady who was reading you a bedtime story?" It never occurred to Daiani that Tadashi could have changed his girlfriend in the meanwhile.  
"She sure is!" said Tadashi. "She hasn't run out of stories, yet, either!"

"A little bit to the right, Ok, that's good." said Kumiko. Yoshe was hanging the painting of her husband on the wall of her new room. They both stepped back, arm in arm, to admire it.


	9. Chapter 9, Minato and Others

The first time Minato was present while Kenji did the monthly maintenance on the Old Home clock, they only had a short talk.  
"How long have you been a clock apprentice?"  
"Oh, about three or so years. Shortly after Kana left, in fact. Did you know Kana?"  
"No, I've only heard about her. I've been here for just two years."  
"What do you do for your work?"  
"I'm a warehouse runner. Nowhere as near as technical as being a clock repairer."

The second time, they sat on a bench in the courtyard for an hour.  
"I've got two brothers, and my mother died some time ago. My father and brothers are always pestering me to get out and do sports and be more social, but I'm just as happy staying home and reading or repairing clocks."  
"I have Rakka and Kaori as my senpai or seniors. They are the ones I am closest to, I live here and at Leyton House, so I can spend a part of each week with both of them. And there are the haibane children, who are beginning to be teenagers. They are starting to move back and forwards between the others nests, as they work out where they want to live and what they want to do. I'm social with them, but it has never progressed beyond that stage. Same with the others at Leyton House. They are all nice, but only social friends."  
Rakka walked past on her way to hang up some clothing.  
"Hi Kenji! Is the clock going all right?"  
"Yes, no problems."

The third time, at the same bench.  
"Yasaka went on her Day of Flight last year. While I wasn't especially close to her, it was still very sad. Especially for Rakka and the twins, they had a lot more to do with her."  
"I still remember my mother lying in bed, coughing. One week she was well, the next she had a cold, the week after it got so bad she went to hospital, and then..."

"How about we meet next Saturday? We can take a picnic lunch and sit under a windmill." suggested Amo.  
"Sounds fine to me."

Rakka to Kaori some weeks later.  
"Now they are having a weekly Saturday picnic at various scenic locations."  
Kaori had scratched her head and flicked her hair back. "The great romance, starring a haibane and a human! Is this going to cause any problems?"  
"The Communicator doesn't know, or isn't saying, so it looks like we should try not to worry. Too much."

The twentieth time or so. They had graduated to sitting arm in arm. This time they were overlooking one of the fishing areas along the river. It was just after winter, sill a bit chilly but even so there were a couple of fishers, using fishing lines to hook the fish and fishing nets to grab them.  
"This is nice. But what about your Day of Flight?"  
"I don't intend going just yet, can we just think about something else?"

A few times after that.  
"Actually, I have been thinking about my Day of Flight. I don't know when it will be, but it could be anywhere between soon and three or four years time."  
"In the time we have been getting to know each other, one of my brothers has had four girlfriends. The other is slightly more sensible, he's only had one. But I take a long time to get to know someone, and then I would like to know them for an even longer time, decades if possible."  
"Sorry, I can't help it that I will be going too soon."  
They had moved slightly apart and were each staring straight ahead.  
"Your Day of Flight is going to be all too soon."

The time after that.  
"I've been thinking about things..." said Minato.  
"I have also."  
"It really isn't going to work, is it?"  
"No it isn't. It isn't. It is really hopeless." said Kenji.  
"But we really do get along very well."  
A pause in the conversation while each looked at each other.  
"But the Wall, or whatever, doesn't care about that, does it?" said Kenji.  
"No, it doesn't. Can't we just keep meeting like this?"  
"I wish we could, but..."  
"Yeah, I guess nothing will work out..."

A few days later, at a Sunday lunch at Leyton House.  
"Kaori, Rakka, I've had a talk with Kenji and we've decided there is absolutely no choice. We won't be seeing each other again." said Minato. She started to cry.  
"There, there" said both Kaori and Rakka as they hugged her. "It is probably for the best, but it is will also be painful for you. And him." said Kaori.  
"Also, for the time being, I would like to stay a Leyton House. Since at Old Home he still has to present himself to maintain the clock."  
"That's fine" said Rakka. "I'm always visiting here, anyway."

The following evening Rakka visited Kaori and had a private chat.  
"So the great romance is over. And without any disaster. That's a relief." said Kaori. "Did the Communicator look relieved also?"  
"Well, not really. Maybe he had a bad day. I agree with you, they managed to take the right course of action for both of them, and have avoided any disaster."

Minato hid her grief over the still-born romance. She would have a little cry at night every night before going to bed. But she didn't want to bother her seniors about this, so she didn't say anything.

* * *

A month later, in the middle of the week, Rakka paid one of her many social visits to Leyton House. While she was discussing events with Kaori in the lounge room, Minato came in and stood in front of them. If you took the expression of someone who was going to say goodbye to their loved ones for a long period time, plus someone who looking forward to meeting their loved ones after a long break, and simultaneously combined the two together, you would have the expression on Minato's face. She reached out and held Kaori's and Rakka's hands.  
"Rakka, Kaori, I feel I am ready to go very soon. I wish to thank you for your warmth and kindness over the last few years."  
"Oh" said Kaori.  
"I'm, I'm glad for you" managed Rakka after a while.  
"I would like to ask the favour that you don't tell anyone else outside of Leyton House. I know that people like a chance to say good bye, but I haven't formed particularly strong connections with anyone else, and I feel it is best the Kenji doesn't know about this until after I am gone." said Minato. As she spoke she looked at Kaori, then Rakka, then raised her head and looked into space towards a corner of the room. Her voice was steady and calm.  
"Ok, that's fine." said Kaori.  
Minato left the room to go upstairs. Rakka sat heavily onto the lounge chair and put her head into her arms, then straightened and looked up again.  
"It's painful every time."  
Kaori sat next to her and patted her back between her wings. She didn't bother saying anything.

Kaori decided to not send out any invitations for a Sunday lunch event for this week. She just said she wanted to have a break. Minato announced her impending Day of Flight to the inhabitants of Leyton House on Friday. On Saturday evening, half an hour before dusk, she stood in front of everyone living at Leyton House, bowed, turned around and walked out the door. Since it was winter she was well rugged up, with scarf and wing covers. Kaori and Rakka had insisted.  
Everybody else moved to one of the free rooms on the second floor facing the Western Woods, and sat on chairs facing the window. It was cold but clear outside, so they had a perfect view. For the next two hours there was desultory conversation-  
"Anyone like another biscuit?" this was Ukimi, who had baked plenty.  
"Not really."  
"By now she's probably most of the way through the woods." said Rakka, looking at the clock.  
"Hope she doesn't get lost" said Yoshe.  
"According to the Communicator, a departing haibane is somehow given guidance, they just know where to go and how to get there." said Rakka.  
"Will she be meeting Hana?" said Kumiko.  
"That would be nice" said Yoshe.  
As the time advanced they stopped fidgeting around and in silence and stillness watched.  
Finally, a beam of light ascended towards the heavens, accompanied by curving beams arcing off and returning. After a minute or so, darkness returned to the sky.

They all walked downstairs and sat in the dining room. Ukimi had prepared some food, which she spread out on the table. Some of it was being eaten, mainly by Murasaki and Daiani. Nobody else had any appetite, and everyone felt like a part of their heart had been removed. Especially Rakka and Kaori. Everyone just wanted to be with the others, no one wanted to go to their bedrooms and be alone. All in all, your standard post Day of Flight reaction.  
There was the sound of the outside door opening and closing, and footsteps coming down the passage way. The dining room door opened and in stepped-

Minato.

Her scarf was missing, as was both of her wing covers. Her clothes were scratched and she had smudges of dirt all over them, plus her face. Tears streaked down her face.  
"I missed my Day of Flight. I saw it going and I wasn't there. I got to the woods and every time I tried to go forward it hurt. My wings hurt, and my body. I could see the light from my Day of Flight and I wasn't there. I was forced back. My wings still hurt."  
This was said in a voice of anguish and agony, Minato had collapsed to her knees, her face contorted in pain, her voice wavering.  
Everybody else stood around and watched in horror. Her halo was flashing on and off in an irregular pattern, dimming and then managing to come back.  
And as Minato finished speaking her halo dimmed one last time, turned black, and fell off her head. It hit the floor and stayed there, inert and uncaring.  
Everybody in the room gasped in horror, some sank down to their knees. Komai was frantically hugging Daiani, Kumiko was holding onto Yoshe in pure desperation, the others were hugging themselves, or putting their hands over their mouths to stop themselves from screaming.  
Minato looked at the dead halo in total shock, and then she reacted to a fresh wave of pain going through her body. For an agonising minute she kneeled and shook, while her wings spasmed and twitched and bled along their bases. Then they sloughed off and fell onto the floor, their stumps causing a trail of blood down the back of her dress. They lay on the floor, now lifeless, the base of each wing in a little pool of blood. Minato took one look at the cast off wings, looked at the crowd, and fainted.  
Nobody else fainted, but they weren't much better.  
Eventually Ukimi managed to force herself to be calm. She staggered to her feat, grabbed some clean tea towels sitting on a side table, and used them to staunch the blood from Minato's back. Fortunately there wasn't much.  
"Kaori, please hold this tea towel against this wound, and I'll do this side."  
Kaori's body jerked as she attempted to get herself going, then she did as she was told.

It took them half an hour to get their collective sanity back again. Kaori felt it was beyond her to arrange everyone to get Minato upstairs to her bedroom, so she got Murasaki to put fresh bedding onto his bed, and they managed to put her into his room. Murasaki was told to arrange one of the unoccupied second floor bedrooms for sleeping for tonight. Ukimi and Kaori put proper bandages on Minato's back and Ukimi found a laundry bag and put the discarded wings into them, then stored the bag outside. Finally everyone stood around in the crowed bedroom, watching Minato sleep. At last, Kaori spoke.  
"I and Rakka will keep watch over Minato tonight. If everyone else could go upstairs and try to sleep."  
Ukimi said that she would bring down her bedding and sleep in one of the spare downstairs bedrooms, with her door open, just in case help was needed.  
Yoshe also said she would to the same. She felt that having someone a bit older might be useful if there were any further emergencies.  
Everyone else went upstairs. Ukimi and Yoshe tried to sleep. Rakka and Kaori sat on chairs in Minato's current bedroom. They sat next to each other and linked arms.  
"This is horrible. What does it mean?" said Kaori.  
"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." said Rakka. "Tomorrow I will have to go to the temple first thing, as fast as possible, and ask for help."


	10. Chapter 10, The Renmei, part 1

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have all the responsible older members of the household downstairs, and all the younger, not so knowledgeable ones upstairs. Maybe there should have been some mature, reasonable, voices present when the young ones gathered in one of the bedrooms.

Kumiko: "What does this mean, Minato comes back, loses her wings and halo and Day of Flight light goes without her."  
Daiani: "Well, maybe the Day of Flight light show is not actually connected to the haibane. Maybe it is fake light show, and generally the haibane is somewhere else. But this time they missed Minato because she stopped and turned back."  
Murasaki: "But what about the wings and halo coming off?"  
Komai: "Maybe they just automatically come off when it is time for all of this."  
Kumiko: "But why? If we are going to have a Day of Flight we need wings to fly!"  
Daiani: "Maybe the light show is just the means of dragging up the haibane by their halo? When they get to the top, the halo comes off and they fall into... What?  
Komai: "Into the fishing net?"  
Several at the same time: "What?"  
Amo: "Fishing net? But we eat fish!"  
Kumiko: "That's insane!"  
Murasaki: "Well, suggest something else!"  
Daiani: "Maybe the halo causes the haibane to turn into a flash of light?"  
Murasaki: "You mean an explosion? My cocoon dream was about flashes of orange yellow getting closer, destroying everything they touch."  
Kumiko: "But if the halo does that, then why was there still a Day of Flight light beam? Because Minato came back with her halo."  
Murasaki: "Perhaps the halo lures the haibane out to the proper target area, and then in comes the flash and destruction, which kills the haibane."  
Kumiko: "But why kill him or her?"  
Murasaki: "Ok, the flash and explosion just acts to push the haibane out of Guri."  
Amo: "But this time they missed Minato?"  
Kumiko: "But what about a normal Day of Flight. What happens to the haibane?"  
Amo: "Dragged upwards and eaten like a fish?"  
Daiani: "Maybe that's what the walls are for, to keep out the wolves."  
Murasaki: "What? And what is a wolf?"  
Daiani: "I just now remembered an extra part of the cocoon dream. We were running away from wolves."  
Komai: "Yes, I remember that also!"  
Amo: "But what are wolves?"  
Daiani: "Big dogs, that are hungry. And have sharp teeth."  
Kumiko: "This is horrible"  
Komai: "Perhaps a Day of Flight is a way of feeding a haibane to the wolves on the other side of the wall?"  
Amo: "Or maybe it just kills babies."  
Kumiko: "Huh, what babies? We weren't talking about babies."  
Amo: "My baby. He was dead. In my cocoon dream."  
Murasaki: "But, but, that does not anything to do with a Day of Flight!"  
Amo: "How do you know?"  
Kumiko: "How would I know? But I can tell you; this talk is starting to hurt my head. What is a Day of Flight supposed to be, anyway?"  
Amo: "We achieve what we have to here, and then fly on to the next stage." She was reciting from her talks with the Communicator.  
Daiani: "How do we know this?"  
Komai: "The Communicator tells us."  
Daiani: "What if he is lying? Perhaps the Renmei kidnap and kill the haibane and feed them to the wolves."  
Kumiko: "This is all crazy talk!"  
Amo: "Then explain why Minato came back but the Day of Flight still happened?"  
Murasaki: "Perhaps the Communicator just kills the haibane, and sets of the light show to pretend there was a Day of Flight?"  
Kumiko: "But WHY!" Her voice was starting to shriek.  
Amo: "How do we know? Do we really know anything about Days of Flight, really?"  
Daiani: "You all must admit, something horrible is going on. And I don't think it is to our advantage in any way. We have been lied to and used."

There was a general consensus on that.

Eventually they went to bed. Komai dragged her mattress into Daiani's room and slept on the floor. Amo moved her mattress into Kumiko's room. Murasaki, and the others, slept with their doors open, so they could feel closer to the others. Their dreams were not nice.

* * *

Early the following morning, Kumiko was the first upstairs haibane to wake up. She crawled out of bed, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes. Her dreams had been full of wolves with teeth, fish caught in nets, dead babies, and overarching them all, the sight of Minato's halo falling off, the sight of Minato's wings falling off and lying on the floor, blood dripping off their stumps. She looked down at Amo, still sleeping on her mattress on the floor, then staggered as quietly as possible to her desk and found her hand mirror in her small collection of junk.  
"Yep, blood shot eyes, black shadows under them." she mumbled.  
She wondered if that makeup stuff that human girls were supposed to have would fix this. Probably not, the ruins were too extensive.  
She really wanted to cuddle up to Yoshe.  
She crept out of the room, then ran downstairs, quietly poked her head into a couple of bedrooms, and found Yoshe's.  
Yoshe's dreams were also disturbed. She was dreaming about Minato's wings, and the watchmen knocking at her door, and about being squashed by something falling on her...  
"Humph, what?" Yoshe was dragged out of her sleep by a small body jumping into her bed and wrapping her arms around her.  
"Yoshe! Are you awake?"  
"Hmm, I am now." She wrapped her arms around Kumiko. "What's up?"  
"Minato. I keep remembering." Kumiko shuddered and Yoshe patted her back between the wings. They were silent for a while. Yoshe was slowly surfacing from her sleepiness. She pressed her cheek against Kumiko's face and enjoyed the warmth a little bit more, before having to face today's looming problems.  
"Yeah, I know. Rakka is going to the temple soon; hopefully we'll get some answers. I think that Minato is still asleep."  
"Yoshe, it's not just Minato. It's all of the other haibane are upstairs. We had a big talk last night, it was full of hungry wolves and explosions and catching haibane in nets and dead babies and Communicators not telling the truth..."  
Yoshe abruptly sat up and looked at Kumiko in disbelief. "What? What was all of that talk about?"  
Kumiko tried her best to summarise last night's conclusions.  
Yoshe shook her head, "This, this is really, really crazy. I don't think, I not sure, I..."  
She took a breath. "Let's go and find Rakka. She's the most reliable senior haibane here at the moment."

Yoshe and Kumiko softly opened Murasaki's bedroom door, and entered. Kaori wasn't present; she had gone to sleep on her own bed next door. Rakka was slumped in the chair, face looking a lot worse that Kumiko's, chin in her hand, staring at Minato. It being still early morning, the sun was only just above the horizon. So the shadows were still long and the light dim, but there was enough to show. Enough to show Minato, without a halo, without wings, sleeping. Her face looked disturbed, she twitched, and her dreams must have been unpleasant.  
Kumiko looked at the absence of a halo on a person who always had had one. She wrapped her arms around Yoshe and looked away.  
"Rakka, I think you should hear what Kumiko has to say. So should Kaori."  
They went next door, and woke up Kaori. She looked bad also. And after hearing what Kumiko had to say, she looked worse. Rakka didn't look any better.  
"Let's wait until everyone is up and had breakfast. Then we shall talk."

Rakka and Kaori, their concern for Minato overriding their concern for anyone else at the moment, went back to Minato's room. Yoshe took it upon herself to find Ukimi, and between the two of them they started preparing breakfast.

Upstairs, Komai had woken. Seeing it was light outside, she gently shook her brother's shoulder, eventually he cracked open his eyes to look at a new day.  
"Can't I go back to sleep?" he muttered.  
"No you can't! And I keep on dreaming about our cocoon dream. Promise please promise me you will never leave me." said Komai. She clutched his arm and trembled.  
Daiani sat up, wrapped his arms around her. "Of course I won't leave you. After all I followed you here to Guri. And, up till last night I was sure that I would be with you when we left. But now... But I won't leave you, Ok?"  
With that, Komai went to her bedroom to get ready for the day. After a few minutes, they walked, hand in hand, down the stairs to the breakfast table.

Murasaki woke next. His dreams had been filled with flashes of explosions, coming closer. He got dressed, and not wanting to be alone he looked at the other bedrooms. The only haibane upstairs left was Amo, just beginning to crawl out of her bed.  
"Hi, Amo. I'll wait outside your door until you are ready."  
Amo went to her room and got dressed.  
Murasaki was idly, if somewhat morbidly, wondering if a cocoon dream of explosions coming near was better, or worse, than a cocoon dream of holding one's dead baby, when Amo appeared again. Looking at her face, Murasaki decided that her cocoon dream must be the worst.  
They went downstairs to breakfast.

Minato was the last to wake up. She sat in her bed, staring straight ahead at something that could have been a thousand kilometres away. Rakka eventually put her head in front of Minato's visual line of sight and said  
"Would you like some breakfast?"  
Minato focused onto Rakka's face. "No, not really. Could I have a mirror?"  
With reluctance, Rakka found a hand mirror and tentatively gave it to Minato. Minato looked at where her wings should have been showing behind her, and where her halo should have been glowing above her. After a while she dropped the mirror onto the bed and went back to staring into space.  
"What did I do wrong?" she whispered.  
Rakka didn't know. After all, Minato's wings had been their normal charcoal colour, with not a trace of the dreaded black spots, when she had left to go to her Day of Flight.  
"I don't know. But I'll ask the Communicator. I'm sure he will have some answers." Rakka couldn't work out if that counted as a lie or not, she certainly didn't feel any such certainty.  
"But right now, how about having breakfast?"  
Kaori and Rakka checked Minato's back. The wounds were surprisingly healthy, almost healed over with new, still reddish, skin. Finally Minato was guided to breakfast, Kaori and Rakka sitting either side of her.

"Now, everyone, let's eat breakfast, then have a talk." This was Kaori's command, and everyone did so. They didn't eat much, and everyone kept on looking at Minato, then glancing away in embarrassment whenever Minato looked up. Eventually:  
"Will you all stop looking at me!" said Minato, tears running down her face and her fists clenched.  
"Sorry, sorry" said various voices.

After breakfast. "Now, I have heard that, while Minato was sleeping and you should have been sleeping, you lot had a rather... intense... discussion last night." started Rakka.  
Everybody tried to talk at once.  
"Shut up! Everyone please!" It was the first time those present had actually heard Kaori yell in such a way.  
"I'll point to the next person to talk, OK?", said Kaori. She pointed to Daiani.  
"Well, the point is, there must be something really bad happening. I'm no longer sure a haibane is safe after a Day of Flight."  
Kaori rubbed her forehead with her hand. "Something is definitely wrong, but that does not necessarily mean something is bad."  
"Ah, stop, only the person I point to!" Several people had tried to talk at the same time.  
She pointed to Komai.  
"I keep thinking about our cocoon dream, with wolves closing in on us. Maybe that is what it is like here on a Day of Flight?"  
Kaori took a deep breath. Yoshe folded her arms in front of her and grimaced, then said, "I can't see that it would be that bad, surely?"  
"But you're human, it doesn't apply to you!" said Komai.  
"Maybe" said Kaori. "Amo?"  
"I kept dreaming of my cocoon dream, holding my dead baby. I kept thinking, why did he die?"  
"But that's nothing to do with a Day of Flight" said Murasaki.  
"Well, I think it does!" said Amo.  
"Please, I beg you, don't start arguing." Kaori felt she was under water and sinking rapidly, the oxygen in her lungs running out.  
"Murasaki?"  
"The orange and red flashes of light getting closer; do they have anything to do with the Day of Flight light show? I'm pretty sure that when one of those flashes came to my location is when I died."  
"I don't know." said Kaori. "Let's move on, Kumiko?"  
"Well, I don't really know. I don't think the Communicator is doing anything bad, and I don't think that the Day of Flight is bad, but after last night..."  
"At last, someone who isn't panicking outright." said Kaori, but only to herself.  
"Minato, do you want to say anything to all of this?"  
"Can I have my Day of Flight back?" This was in a whisper; she looked down at the hands in her lap.  
"I can only hope so." said Rakka, giving her a pat on the back, between the bandages.  
"Ukimi, you weren't in last night's tense encounter, what do you think?"  
"Honestly, I think that while something bad happened, it cannot be as bad as all of these theories. We need to find out what went so wrong in Minato's case. But that does not mean that every other Day of Flight is also wrong."  
"At last, a voice of calm, practical, reason." said Kaori. She added, to herself only, "From my very own Ukimi. You may have an extra biscuit ration. After you make them, that is."  
"I think so, too." said Yoshe. Finally Rakka spoke.  
"I cannot believe that the Communicator would allow anything bad to happen. He has only good intentions towards us, even if he cannot always help us as he would like. So if you could all please don't do anything silly and I will very soon go to the temple and ask for help."  
"I agree with Rakka and the other two." said Kaori, "I may have had certain issues with the Communicator in the past, but I try not to let that blind me to the fact that he is trying to do his best for you haibane."  
There were grumbles and words of dissent from the younger haibane, but they abided by the request, and settled in to a morning of trying not to panic too much.

Before Rakka set off, Kaori had the presence of mind to remember that some of her haibane had jobs. Today was Sunday; however she did not have much hope of resolving everything completely by tomorrow, so they wrote a series of letters, to the various employers, seeking forgiveness for not turning up at work because of various problems. Rakka posted these, and made a detour to Old Home, to tell the twins that there were problems at Leyton House, and she wouldn't be in for a few days. She then hurried, as fast as possible, to the temple.

* * *

Rakka was now standing in front of the Communicator. She felt jittery and jumpy; this time was the first time she had felt like balking at the ceremony of putting on the hand and wing bells. Also at the back of her mind was the little question- "Does the Communicator spend all of his time waiting at his pagoda for haibane to arrive?"  
"Rakka, you appear to be agitated. Please speak about what is on your mind."  
Deep breath. "Last night Minato went to her Day of Flight, but came back, and then she lost her wings and halo, and the Day of Flight occurred anyway, and all of the younger haibane at Leyton House are freaking out and thinking that haibane die or get eaten after their Day of Flight and I don't know what is happening and please help Minato please."  
Rakka sank to her knees and started crying.  
The Communicator stood there, congealed and frozen, for a long minute or two.  
"Oh"  
After that very un-Communicator exclamation, he also knelt down, in front of Rakka and gently patted her head.  
"That Day of Flight was for Megumi, the haibane that lived in a room at the back of the watch house. She was afraid she would never get to have a Day of Flight, but nonetheless it came around for her after all. So the light show was not Minato's. Now, slowly, please tell me exactly what has happened."  
Rakka told him all the details. It took some time.  
Eventually the Communicator said, "Both of us need to go back to Leyton House and I will talk to Minato and the others."  
"But, can Minato have her Day of Flight?" said Rakka, calming down somewhat.  
There was a small silence.  
"It is best that I don't talk about that now." he said.  
"But why can't you? Unless there is something bad going on" said Rakka, beginning to get disturbed again.  
"There is nothing bad, it is just that I am unable to talk about that at the moment."  
"Why not? Why not? If everything is Ok, then why can't you say, one way or the other?" Rakka was beginning to shout. So disturbed was she that she didn't even realise that she was actually shouting at the Communicator.  
"Rakka, I wish I could tell you now, but I have to refrain..."  
Rakka felt as if a dark and threatening blackness was rising around her, blocking out the warm friendly Guri she thought she had known, and replacing it with something strange, fearful. The reasons for her life here, for hatching and living with her companions and then for the Day of Flight, that she once thought were solid and stable and fundamentally decent, were dissolving and distorting into nightmarish scenarios, with futility and death as the only things to look forward to. She knelt and wrapped her hands around herself and trembled. She was reliving the halo and wings falling off Minato, and Minato collapsing.  
The Communicator reached out to comfort her, but Rakka jerked back  
"No, don't touch me!" She jumped up and ran towards the door, then stopped as the panic wore off slightly. She leant against a tree and shook.  
The Communicator was making urgent hand signs to some of the surrounding Renmei. One ran off, and came back with another Renmei. This one walked up to Rakka, gently took Rakka's hands and-  
"It's all right; we understand that you are feeling fearful and upset. We need time ourselves to work out what is going on, so we can't answer all questions."  
The voice was obviously female. Rakka stopped crying in sheer surprise at being addressed verbally by one of the always silent Renmei, a woman at that.

Half an hour later, the Communicator and Rakka and the Renmei that had comforted Rakka set off for Leyton House. Rakka was still considerably disturbed, but the feeling of being trapped and powerless in an unfolding and unstoppable nightmare was abated. As well, the Communicator had requested some of the other Renmei to send messages to all of the other haibane nests, saying that Leyton House was having a difficult time and requesting (actually ordering) that no one visit them for the a while.

It was now just before lunch time; they were all gathered in the dining room. The Communicator was standing at one end of the room, with the Renmei standing a little to one side. Everyone else was sitting on chairs or benches; Minato was sitting between Rakka and Kaori. The Communicator had already examined Minato's back and had merely said that the wounds were healing nicely.  
"One of the basics of a haibane's life here on Guri is love, to love others and to be loved in return. Normally the others are haibane, but" here the Communicator nodded to Yoshe and Kaori, "sometimes they can be humans."  
"Without love a haibane is unlikely to achieve a Day of Flight. Unfortunately love can be problematic, love generally helps, but sometimes love can hinder. Hana and Yoshe loved each other, and this helped Hana achieve her trial and thus allowed her to go." At this Yoshe bowed her head and looked at the ground.  
"But sometimes the love can tether the haibane to Guri; they don't want to go because they wish to remain with the one they love. The Wall detects this and won't allow the haibane to leave. It's a bit like being Sin Bound (tsumitsuki), but since there is no 'sin' present; there is no associated blackness on the wings. We call it being Love Bound. But, nevertheless, the haibane cannot leave. Such haibane remain in Guri and live as normal humans. They can become temple Renmei, or, after sufficient time has passed that no other haibane in Guri knows them, they can live in Guri as humans. There are several humans in Guri that you all know that are in fact failed haibane. I hope you forgive me if I don't say who they are. So this is what has happened to Minato."  
At this point, Minato, who had been following this description with intent concentration, burst out-  
"But I and Kenji had already broken up! We agreed not to ever see each other again last month! It was never going to work out anyway! I don't want to remain in Guri!"  
The Communicator spoke as gently as he could, "Apparently you still had some feelings remaining for Kenji, and this is what the Wall detected. Presumably if your Day of Flight had been just a bit later, none of this would have happened."  
"So what do I do? Can I still have my Day of Flight?" wailed Minato.  
"At this stage I cannot answer that-"  
"But why not?" said Minato.  
"Well, we don't ourselves know what will happen in the near future..." said the Communicator.  
Minato was starting to freak out, "I don't want to remain here!"  
Some of the younger haibane were muttering to themselves, and Kaori stood up and said  
"Please, I'm sure that the Communicator is doing the best he can, please calm down and be sensible!"  
Komai couldn't keep it in any longer "But you're human. Maybe the Communicator is lying to you also! It's not a matter of being sensible; it's a matter of Minato losing her wings and halo!"  
Murasaki continued before the Communicator could say anything "How do we know for sure that the haibane don't just die on their Day of Flight. After all, we died before we came here; maybe the Day of Flight is our final death!"  
The Communicator remained silent, waiting to see what else would be forthcoming.  
"Honestly, while I don't feel all that comfortable with the Communicator, in this matter I cannot believe that he is doing anything else than his best. He did his best to allay Yoshe's worries over Hana's Day of Flight and I was impressed with that" said Kaori.  
"But he still won't say if Minato can have her Day of Flight!" said Daiani.  
Several of the other young haibane started shouting. Minato started crying. Yoshe, looking around at the anguish, reached out and held onto Kumiko.  
"Quiet please. Kumiko, do you feel confident in the Communicator?" she said.  
Kumiko looked over to where the Communicator was standing, and then looked up at Yoshe. She held onto Yoshe's arm and said "Yes, I think the Communicator is Ok"  
Ukimi held Kaori's hand and also said "I think we are panicking too much here, we need to take some time out and wait to see what happens."

At this, everyone calmed down, a little. The younger ones agreed to wait a bit more. The Communicator spoke  
"I will go now and give you some breathing space. If you can all please follow Kaori's and Yoshe's and Rakka's guidance and we will see what happens tomorrow. Right now I would like to speak to Rakka in private."

"Rakka, can you come back to the temple with me to discuss this? This is important." asked the Communicator.  
At this, Rakka was conflicted. She really wanted to stay here with Minato, and the others, and she was still shaken from the morning's meeting with the Communicator. On the other hand she did not want to directly refuse him.  
"I don't want to think about it now, can I think about this tomorrow morning? I want to be here for the others, for the time being."  
"Hmm, Ok, that will have to do." With that, the Communicator and the Renmei left to go back to the temple.

That night, the younger haibane got worked up again about the situation. However, this time, everyone was present. This time Kaori and Yoshe and Rakka managed to moderate the extremist opinions of the younger haibane. Unfortunately there were unable to eliminate such opinions entirely, with unfortunate consequences that will become visible soon.

Rakka went to bed feeling emotionally exhausted. As she lay there, staring at the ceiling, she remembered Nemu telling her how she had sat at the table in the guest room, praying for Reki's salvation. Maybe the praying helped, and maybe not, Rakka didn't know. But it couldn't hurt, could it? So Rakka put her hands together and prayed to the powers that be that Minato could have her Day of Flight. And as she prayed she drifted off to sleep.

"Rakka"  
The voice woke Rakka up. There, sitting in a chair by the side of her bed, was Reki, patting Rakka's hand.  
"Reki? But..."  
"I'm here just to say that you need to trust the Communicator in this matter. Heavens knows I had issues with the Communicator in the past, but in this matter he is acting in everyone's best interests, to the best of his ability."  
With that, Reki bent over, lightly kissed Rakka on the forehead, and was no longer there.

In the morning, both Amo and Murasaki came looking very much the worse for wear. They both had black spots on their wings.  
"I'm starting to have nightmares about my dead baby" said Amo.  
"I keep thinking about those explosions and flashes coming closer." said Murasaki.  
The younger haibane started feverishly whispering that maybe it is better to be sin-bound and be prevented from going on a Day of Flight, instead of going and risking Day of Flight being bad. Yoshe sat on a couch with her arms around Kumiko, as if in a vain attempt to protect her from any evil influences. Kaori temporarily gave up trying to deal with the mob, and instead retreated to the kitchen where Ukimi was making breakfast. Rakka sat with a stunned look on her face, there was an endless loop of images running through her mind: her own wings going black, and Reki's wings going black as she tried to drive Rakka away when they were in Reki's cocoon nightmare room. Things were getting progressively worse, if something wasn't done soon then what disasters would prevail? She remembered the Communicators request to go to the temple this morning, maybe there was something that could be done?  
Rakka stood up. "The Communicator asked me to go into the temple again; perhaps he has some scheme to stop this unfolding disaster. I'm going now."  
Rakka popped into the kitchen to say the same to Kaori and Ukimi, and then rugged up for the cold and set off for the temple, for the second time in two days.

* * *

As usual, the Communicator was waiting at his pagoda. "There is a way you can help Minato have her Day of Flight. But to do this you will have to pay a price."  
Rakka listened with these words with dismay. "And, what is the price?"  
"That you in turn loose your Day of Flight."  
The words went round and round Rakka's head.  
"Lose my own Day of Flight"  
"Lose my own Day"  
"Lose my own"  
She sat on the ground, put her head in her hands, and tried to think.  
"Minato can have her Day of Flight back. But I lose mine. I want Minato to succeed. But if I don't go on my Day of Flight, then, what? Does that mean I never meet Reki again? But if I don't help Minato, and Minato stays here, and I had a chance to help her, what does that do to me? Do I feel guilty for the rest of my life here in Guri? Will I get tsumitsuki from this and be unable to go anyway? And what about Murasaki and Amo? If they see Minato go, perhaps they will get better and be able to leave also. Or if Minato doesn't go, and is stuck here, being very unhappy, will that make even more of the young haibane fail?"  
Rakka opened her eyes and looked at the ground. There was a little beetle crawling along, testing the air with its antennae. She kept thinking-  
"Now, if I was a little beetle, I wouldn't have any of these problems. But then I wouldn't have any thoughts about anything. I wouldn't have the memory of Reki. But I do have those thoughts and memories. Which appears to unfortunately mean I also have problems?"  
"Damn this!" she said aloud. Rakka was not normally the one to swear.  
She stood up and looked at the Communicator. "Ok, I'll do it. I expect to regret it for the rest of my life here, but I choose to do it."  
"Also, do I have to tell Minato about this?"  
"All things considered it is probably best not to tell her beforehand." said the Communicator. "Do you want to wait for a while, just to make sure?"  
"No, let's get this over and done with. What do I need to do?"

Rakka pushed open the door leading down to the inside of the wall, stepped through, and walked down the stairs. At the small hallway where the protection suits were, she briefly stopped, looked at the suit which she normally used, and walked past it. As the Communicator had told her, this time she needed to go unprotected. This time she wanted the powers of the Wall to affect her. But even though she had proper business being down here unprotected, and the Wall knew it, she was still going to get Wall sickness.  
"The Wall is absolute. If you transgress its boundaries, you have to pay the price. It is unfair, but that is the way it is." the Communicator had explained.  
She kept going down the stairs at the other end of the hallway, and came out into the tunnel under the wall. It felt cold and damp. The water flowed along the central channel, with little ripples moving along its surface. There was the occasional dripping sound of water drops, the light from her lantern lit up the nearby walls and reflected back as lots of gold sparkles from the wall plaques. She boarded the round boat, and propelled it along, then tied it to the bollard and alighted. It felt weird, walking along without wearing the full suit.  
She kept thinking "I'm going to lose my Day of Flight, I'm going to lose my Day of Flight ..." the refrain going around and around her head.  
She started to hear the echoes "You're losing your Day of Flight, You're losing your Day of Flight", every drop of water set off another echo.  
"Is this what I want to do?"  
"Is it?"  
"What is my choice?"  
But she kept walking, until she came to her plaque. The Communicator had thoughtfully arranged beforehand for someone to place a small flag in front of hers, so that there was no mistake.  
She had asked: "Do I have to do something dramatic like chisel off my name and replace it with Minato's?"  
But the Communicator had just shook his head. "No, nothing like that. But it will be painful."  
Now at the plaque, Rakka grimaced at this memory. "Yeah, it's always painful. The wings out, saying goodbye to friends, now this."  
Deep breath. "Do I want to do this? Not particularly, but"  
She reached out with her unprotected hand, and placed it onto her plaque. The pain almost made her jerk her hand away, but she managed to keep it there.  
"What do you want?" asked the Wall.  
"Ah, that I give my Day of Flight, uh, to Minato ... Please." Her hand was hurting.  
"You accept the price; you lose your own Day of Flight?"  
"Yes" Her whole arm was hurting.  
"Very well."  
As the pain increase even more, she staggered back and collapsed.

She regained her senses, and found she was lying on the cold ground.  
Reki was kneeling besides her. "You will be fine." she said, as she held Rakka's hand.  
Rakka's next memory was of being carried back down the tunnel and up the stairs by two Renmei, fully suited up in protective suits.

She was now lying on a bed in a room somewhere inside the temple complex, she felt nauseous, her arm ached and she was running a fever. The refrain in her head was now  
"What have I done?"  
"Will I regret it? Probably"  
"Will it be worthwhile?"  
"What becomes of me now?"  
The turmoil going through her mind was worse than what she had felt when she had first woken up in Guri. Because now she had a past with which to compare her current state with. She wondered if it would be best if she could just forget everything and start off afresh, again. At least she still had her wings and, she felt above her head, her halo.  
"How long will they last for?"  
At this point the door opened and in walked two ordinary looking people. One was an old man, wearing what looked like second hand overalls from the thrift shop, and one was a middle aged lady, wearing a plain dress, with patches, probably also from the thrift shop. The lady's hair was tied back into a pony tail; she had worry lines and smile lines on her face. Currently she was smiling kindly and said hello to Rakka.  
Rakka recognised the voice. "You're the lady Renmei that spoke to me the other day!"  
"That's right. My name is Tori."  
Rakka looked at the old man, and finally noticed the tattooed stripes on his face.  
"The Communicator?"  
"Of course. Pleased to meet you. But before we talk about anything, we must treat your Wall sickness."  
The Communicator held Rakka's head up with steady hands, while Tori held a mug of the bitter Wall sickness medicine for Rakka to swallow. It tasted just as vile as it had the first time she had needed it.  
"Now you need to rest. Your next trial will be your halo and wings falling off, probably in a few hours. I need to go to Leyton House and prepare them for Minato's restoration as a haibane, but Tori will stay here and offer any comfort she can."  
With that, the Communicator left, and Rakka sank back into her pillow and drifted off to a very disturbed and fragmentary sleep.

Some hours later she woke. Tori as still there, sitting next to bed.  
"Tori, I think my wings are going to, ah, they're getting painful, does this mean they will..."  
"They will be soon. But have courage, it's not too painful. Physically that is. Emotionally it will be very painful. I speak from experience, but you will get over it."  
At this point Rakka's halo flashed a few times, went black, and dropped down like an inert weight. It bounced off her head and landed on the floor. Rakka started crying.  
"There there, it will be Ok, but you're allowed to cry now."  
Within ten minutes Rakka's wings fell off also. Tori cleaned up the mess, and applied bandages.  
"Here, drink this. It will make you sleepy. Tomorrow is soon enough to start adjusting to your new life."  
Rakka drank what she had been offered, and was grateful to drift off into a deep sleep.


	11. Chapter 11, The Renmei, part 2

The Communicator called upon Leyton House, and informed everyone that Rakka was staying at the temple, and that Minato now needs a new halo, and will be going through the whole wings out procedure within hours. To prove it, he produced the halo mould, and asked Minato to sit on a chair.  
"Fellow haibane Minato, in the hope that the light of this halo will guide you in the near future, I grant you this halo." and as he said this, he used the tongs to place the halo above Minato's head.  
Everyone watching held their breaths and watched intently as the halo made a soft ringing sound, wobbled a bit, then, to everyone's immense relief, stayed in place.  
Kaori rushed to her side and hugged her. "There you are, you are almost back as a full haibane."  
Four hours later, she was a full haibane. Yoshe, never having done the wings cleaning bit before, volunteered to help. So Kaori and Yoshe spent half the night cleaning Minato's new wings.  
"I tell you, this gets tedious and exhausting, very fast." said Kaori to Yoshe.  
"I can well believe you." said Yoshe, as she dodged another splatter of drops of blood when Minato's wings spasmed for the hundredth time.  
"I can't work out which is worse, human birth or haibane wings out." said Kaori. "Not that either of us can make any comparisons."  
At last Kaori deemed Minato's wings to be clean enough. They cleaned themselves up.  
"Also, I was in a bit of a competition with Rakka as to which of us cleans the most wings. I'm now one point ahead. But I don't know why Rakka should have been delayed at the temple overnight..." said Kaori.  
"We will have to wait for the morning to worry about her. Right now I'm off to bed." said Yoshe, slurring her words slightly and struggling to keep her eyes open.

Tough luck, Yoshe. Because at this point Ukimi rushed into the room, "Yoshe, Kaori, you need to come and look at Kumiko, she says her wings are hurting real bad!"  
Yoshe, forgetting she was tired and exhausted, raced past Ukimi and up the stairs to Kumiko. Kumiko was sitting on her bed, muttering to herself, her body was twitching and her wings were jerking. And as Yoshe held her, and everybody else crowded into the bedroom to watch, Kumiko's halo went dead and fell off, and her wings bled at the base and fell off.  
"Yoshe! I've lost my halo, this time for good! I won't have a Day of Flight! I'm stuck in Guri!" cried Kumiko, has she clutched Yoshe. And Yoshe, amidst her emotional turmoil at seeing Kumiko so distressed, had the treacherous thought-  
"This means I won't be saying goodbye to her soon. She will remain here and grow up and I can enjoy her company for decades." She felt terrible for having such a thought, but she had it anyway.  
Ukimi sped down the stairs, found another large cloth bag, and came back. She put the wings and the dead halo into it and took them outside. By the time she came back Kaori had collected her wits sufficiently to organise the Murasaki and Daiani to carry Kumiko downstairs and into an empty bed.  
"Ok, tomorrow the Communicator will be contacted. For tonight, me and Yoshe and Ukimi will took after Minato and Kumiko downstairs. If the rest of you please get back to bed, we can worry about things tomorrow."  
Naturally enough in the circumstances, Kaori wasn't fully thinking things out. Once again, all of the younger, least experienced, haibane were gathered upstairs, without any adult supervision. This time there were Daiani, Komai, Amo and Murasaki present. They stayed in what had been Kumiko's bedroom, blood stains still visible on the bedding. This, also, wasn't the best of places to gather. Daiani and Komai couldn't help themselves; they kept looking at the black spots on Murasaki's and Amo's wings. Was it just their imaginations, or was the blackness on Amo's wings increasing?

Daiani: "First it was Minato, then she regains her wings and halo, but Rakka disappears and now Kumiko falls, and you two have black spots. What next?"  
Komai: "But the Communicator seemed to say that all was going to be under control, didn't he?"  
Amo: "But it isn't under control! Kumiko is now down, Rakka is missing, we have black spots, except for Minato, and everything else has gotten worse!"  
Murasaki: "Maybe Minato's recovery is just to lure us into complacency, while everyone else falls? Then she will fall again and, and, I don't know."  
Komai: "Maybe there really are wolves outside, just waiting for us. This is all just to get us disorganised before they move in..."  
Amo: "I don't know anything about that; I just keep seeing my dead baby. What if I somehow caused him to die?"  
Daiani: "Surely you can't be to blame; it must have been out of your control?"  
Amo: "I don't know, I don't know. It's starting to give me nightmares!"

At this Amo started crying and then rushed off to her room and slammed the door shut.

Murasaki: "The flashes from the explosions kept on coming closer and closer. As they got closer I could hear the thumps they made, and hear bits of debris flying past."

Taking one last look at the blood on Kumiko's bed, he went off to bed himself.

Komai looked at Daiani. "I don't won't to go on a Day of Flight. I want to stay here with you."  
"Well, I don't won't to go without you."  
"So what is going to happen?" said Komai at last.

Early next morning, Kumiko woke up. Yoshe, who had been dozing on a chair next to her bed, managed to get her brain somewhat functional.  
"Kumiko, I'm sorry, really sorry. This must be that Love Bound thing that the Communicator was talking about. You didn't even get a flashing halo to warn us."  
Yoshe sat on the bed and cradled Kumiko, like the first time when she gave Kumiko's halo back to her. Only this time she felt the guilt of being responsible for her losing her halo. Tears tricked down Yoshe's face and landed on Kumiko's blouse.  
"It's all right. If you are here I don't mind staying in Guri... I think."  
"Also, I have to confess this, I, I... I felt... This makes me feel extremely guilty, but I, I felt glad that you could stay here and you could be a part of my life for decades to some. I hope you can forgive me..."  
"Course I do."  
They both had a good cry. Then they got up and got ready for breakfast.

When Komai and Daiani came down to breakfast, neither looked very happy. They both had black spots on their wings.

Kaori looked at the line up of haibane at her table. Four had black spots; one was missing her halo and wings. Minato was looking tired but recovering, her new halo and wings looking normal. Only Ukimi, her very own haibane, was unaffected. She still had nice charcoal coloured wings and she alone amongst the haibane wasn't panicking or over reacting.  
"Thank god Ukimi is remaining sane and stable. Yoshe looks like she is just this side of collapse, I'm probably not much better. Everybody else is just this side of being basket cases. My god, I must be a failure as a haibane nest mother." With this depressing unspoken thought she looked around the table again and  
Murasaki's halo flashed.  
"Oh my god." said Kaori. "Just what we need, an immediate deadline."  
"Ok, nobody panic! We will put on wing covers and we will all go to the temple! Now!" she spoke as forcefully as she could manage.  
"And Kumiko put a shawl over your head to hide your face from the humans outside."  
Within ten minutes they were off.

At the temple the Renmei were having breakfast. The Communicator sat down at the table; there were half a dozen others present. Tori and Rakka were sill absent.  
"Well, I am certainly glad that crisis is over. Rakka will need a lot of support, as usual for a new Renmei. And Minato will hopefully have a Day of Flight soon. And give enough time the two affected ones should overcome their tsumitsuki, and eventually achieve their Days. Although we will certainly need to monitor the situation very closely. And Yoshe and Kaori have performed well."  
There were murmurs of ascent from the others.

Tori had looked at the wounds on Rakka's back and declared they were healing up very nicely.  
"This is just like the first time you woke in Guri, you are starting a new life and you don't know what is happening. All of us Renmei have been through that and we will support you as much as we can. May I suggest you keep any questions for the time being and concentrate on regaining your strength? Right now it is time for breakfast, so let's go and meet the others."  
At that, Tori lead Rakka down some corridors and to the dining/meeting room. Rakka's head was a swirling montage of thoughts and emotions and images, of the times she had in Guri, of all the times when she had a halo and wings. And now she was a normal human. She was going to have to start all over again. They entered the dining room, and everyone greeted Rakka. There were eight men and women present, counting Tori. They all looked to be middle aged or older, and all looked like normal humans, except for the tattoos on the Communicator's face.  
"Hi, everyone. Ah, don't you wear your Renmei costumes here?"  
They all laughed, the Communicator said: "We wear those when we're outside. We would go crazy if we had to wear them all the time."  
One of the others drew out a chair for Rakka. "Here, sit here and have some breakfast."  
Rakka stared at this man, he looked familiar... "Eek! You're the thrift shop guy!"  
"That's right! Actually I'm not a full time Renmei, I live in town, but every so often I come here for meetings and I sleep over."  
"Oh my, so you were a haibane once?"  
"Yes, that's right. Just like Minato, I fell in love with a human. Ironically, I never announced it to the girl, and she never knew. But it still kept me here. It was tough at first, but there are rewards."  
"But you were talking about your grandmother's sayings about haibane?"  
"A little white lie. It was actually someone else's grandmother."  
"I see there is a lot to learn."  
"That's right" said several.

At this point they were interrupted. A fully masked Renmei appeared at the door.  
"Sorry to interrupt you all, but there appears to be a group of haibane coming up the path to the bridge. I think it's everyone from Leyton House, it's about the right number."  
"Oh." said the Communicator. "Tori and Rakka, you stay here and have breakfast. Everyone else, get ready for work. Let's hope that nothing much has happened."  
Wistful thinking, Mr Communicator.  
After all of the others had left, leaving Tori and Rakka in peace, Tori took the opportunity to fill in Rakka on a few very important details that hitherto had been kept from her.

The two Renmei waiting at the main doors were not carrying a few bell bracelets in their hands, they each had a bag of them. Kaori, by now in an extremely irritable mood due to lack of sleep and the dire situation, took one look at these and said  
"Cut the crap, we are not here for socialisation."  
One the Renmei looked as if he was going to protest, but the other had been looking at the group and wondering what a human girl was doing with them. When it finally dawned upon her, she tapped the first Renmei on the shoulder and made a few gestures in their hand sign language. The first Renmei gave up the argument and opened the doors.  
"And everyone take off their wing covers please." said Kaori.

The motley crowd tramped in and ended up milling around the Communicator's pagoda. Thus allowing him a good view of what was now four haibane with blackened wings, and another haibane with missing wings and missing halo, and for good measure Murasaki's halo blinked again.  
"Well, Mr Communicator, as you can see, maybe I am a dreadful nest mother or something, but things are getting bad and we would all appreciate some help."  
Kaori wasn't speaking very politely at all, she felt as if she was on an out of control vehicle ploughing straight towards the Wall and the steering and brakes weren't working.  
"And where has Rakka gone to?" shouted Minato.  
"Can Kumiko regain her wings and halo?" asked Daiani.  
"And what about my halo flashing?" cried Murasaki.  
The younger haibane were starting to panic in earnest, they all started to shout at once and began moving around chaotically. Yoshe knelt on the ground with her arms around Kumiko and Ukimi held Kaori's arm, preventing Kaori from falling over from exhaustion.  
"Please, everyone, if you can..." said the Communicator. He was interrupted by someone shouting  
"Where's Rakka?" and other such comments.  
At which point the Communicator hand signed a message to a Renmei, who turned and ran off to the temple's rooms. The Communicator then turned to the group, and took off his mask and hood.  
Everyone stopped their panicked motions and became quiet, out of sheer surprise.  
"Yes, it has become this serious. We need to take a breather, gather our sanity back together, and I need to explain a few extra details. Firstly, I need to wait for some people to return..."

Taking advantage of the sudden quietness, the Communicator decided to try the reasonable talk option. "The worst thing we can do now is to panic; panicking may lead to impetuous actions which could only make things worse. I have just sent for Rakka and the Renmei looking after her. When they arrive I need to have a small private talk with Rakka, then Rakka will have a private talk with Yoshe and Kumiko, then Yoshe will be able to explain some things to the rest of you."  
The group took this silently and they all decided they could wait just a little longer. However the older ones were puzzled at the number of steps in this process.  
At last Rakka and Tori arrived. Now there were more gasps of horror and dismay when it became apparent that Rakka had also lost her halo and wings.  
"It's all right. I choose to lose my wings, and in return the Wall allowed Minato to regain hers" said Rakka, getting in her speech before anyone else could start.  
"What! You had to lose your Day of Flight so I could have mine?" Minato looked horrified.  
"Please! This is where I need to speak to Rakka." said the Communicator, raising his voice to be heard over the growing ruckus from the younger haibane.  
The Communicator took Rakka and walked away out of earshot, but still visible. He talked with her for a while, and then they came back.  
"Now, would Yoshe and Kumiko please go to Rakka?"  
They did. They also had a discussion with Rakka, and eventually they all came back. Yoshe was looking extremely thoughtful at the implications of what she had heard, and it was only when the Communicator addressed her that she looked up and took notice of the others.  
"If you could tell the others what you have learnt, while us Renmei, and Kumiko, step back out of hearing range?" said the Communicator.  
Yoshe waited, and then addressed the group.  
"Well, this is interesting, and it makes sense of the Communicator's actions. Haibane who do not make their Day of Flight and remain behind do not have to become Renmei, they can live as humans or become Toga. Those who do, need to take vows to the Wall, and one of these vows is that they cannot lie. As in they just can't, they are prevented from doing so. It would cause then a certain amount of mental pain if they attempted to do so. With one exception: A haibane that is going to voluntarily lose their wings and halo, to become a Renmei or Toga or to help another haibane, is always told before the event that they will lose their Day of Flight. This is to discourage haibane from taking this choice of action, unless they are really determined."  
Yoshe looked at the crowd listening carefully to these words.  
"However, this is a lie. A haibane always has his or her Day of Flight. It's just that the Renmei have to wait decades, until they age and become old, before they may do so."  
"So Kumiko and Rakka can still fly away one day?" said several.  
"Yes, but they have to wait a long time. As well, there is a further complication: A haibane that voluntarily gives up their Day of Flight, to help another haibane to regain their Day of Flight, and who becomes a Renmei, is eligible to become, eventually, a Communicator."  
"Are you saying that Rakka may one day be Communicator!" said Kaori, completely astonished. Judging by their reactions, everyone else was just as amazed.  
"Yes! Takes some getting used to, doesn't it?" said Yoshe.  
"So girls can become Communicators!" said Ukimi.  
"In fact, Rakka probably will be the next Communicator; there are no others currently eligible. But, apparently, the current Communicator is not going to give up anytime soon." continued Yoshe.  
"This is why the Communicator could not say if Minato was going to have her Day of Flight anyway, because he had to make sure that all of the other haibane remained ignorant, in case there was a haibane that would volunteer to forgo their own Day of Flight. And it gets more complicated."  
Yoshe stopped to compose herself, then spoke some more.  
"In fact, the Renmei still can't tell any haibane this fact. Normally you would never get to know this, unless you lost your halo and wings. However, in the present situation, where things are rapidly getting out of control and could lead to a mass failure to achieve a normal Day of Flight, they have decided to bend the rules as much as possible. The Wall is aware of this situation and is allowing the rules to bend, but even it is not able to break its own rules. But the Wall was able, just, to allow the Communicator to tell Rakka, who in turn can a human. And, of course, the human is under no such constraints as are imposed upon the Renmei. So that is why I can be telling you all of this, with the Communicator and the Renmei all out of hearing range."  
Yoshe stopped talking, and there was a long silence as everyone let this sink in.  
"So Rakka, in giving up her Day of Flight for me, will be the next Communicator?" said Minato.  
"Yes, from what the current Communicator has told me. And I see no need to distrust him." said Yoshe.  
"Well, I suppose that is Ok, and then she will also, eventually, have her Day of Flight anyway."  
"Rakka as Communicator! That's amazing!" muttered Kaori, barely audible.  
"But what about Kumiko and the four with black spots? Especially Murasaki, who has to either clear his wings soon, or be kept in Guri for many decades." asked Ukimi.  
"The Communicator said something about that also." here Yoshe went back to looking despondent.  
"A haibane that looses their wings and halo normally has to wait for old age to finally have their Day of Flight. However, there are exceptions here, too. If they choose, they can give up their long life and have the Day of Flight much sooner, but only if they do so in order to help another haibane delay their Day of Flight. Apparently this option does not extend to already established Renmei. So either Kumiko or Rakka, but no one else, could regain a Day of Flight soon, within half a year or so, if they volunteer to help Murasaki by pushing back the time of his Day. So Murasaki has time to regain clear wings."  
Here Yoshe stopped. She was thinking: "First Kumiko loses her wings, and I feel terrible. Then I realise that this means she can live in Guri, and I feel terrible for feeling glad. And now Kumiko is going to go soon anyway, and I still feel terrible."  
"And, Kumiko has volunteered to do this." Yoshe turned her face away from the group, and looked at Kumiko standing in the distance.  
Everyone else was silent as they worked out what was going on. They remained silent when they did.

The Communicator was back and addressing the group again.  
"Possibly Minato will have her Day of Flight soon. It depends on what the Wall decides. Kumiko and Yoshe and Kaori need to come with me. If the rest of you could follow Rakka and Tori, they will take you to a meeting room, and give you lunch."  
Murasaki's halo was flashing every twenty minutes or so by now.

The Communicator was now talking to Kumiko and Yoshe and Kaori only.  
"The Wall knows what we are trying to achieve, and is letting us, but even so it is barely within its own rules. All that we can do is to put a marker next to Murasaki's plaque, and prepare the wall sickness medicine. Everything else you need to do yourself. If it's any consolation, I and the few other Renmei directly associated with this action, will be suffering a certain amount of Wall Vow imposed mental anguish, because we are bending the rules so much. "  
The Communicator described what needed to be done.

Leaving the Communicator behind at his pagoda, the three moved towards the tunnel entrance. Waiting at the entrance was Rakka. She handed Kumiko a pillow.  
"You might use this when you sink to the floor after you are finished asking the Wall. You might as well keep you head off the cold ground while waiting for Yoshe and Kaori to carry you back." said Rakka.  
"Incidentally, I see what the Communicator means about the Wall Vow imposed mental anguish, I'm suffering a bit just from doing this."  
Indeed, there were vertical crease lines between Rakka's eye brows, and her mouth was turned down at the edges.  
"Thanks" said Kumiko, and gave Rakka a hug.

They moved down the stairs to the landing where the suits were. Kaori and Yoshe put on two suits, and Kumiko remained without.  
Kaori and Yoshe watched Kumiko, unprotected by any suit, walk with them down more stairs. The stairs were just wide enough for two, so Yoshe walked next to Kumiko, and held her hand tightly.  
As before, they got into the boat, propelled it to the correct landing, and disembarked. This was the point where Kumiko had to go on alone.  
"Please take care." said Yoshe, gamely trying not to cry.  
"We'll be there as soon as the Wall indicates you have finished." said Kaori. That is what the Communicator had told them, although they didn't know how the Wall would indicate this.  
Kumiko, clutching the pillow to her chest as if to protect her, walked away into the gloom. As she walked, the light from her lantern cast shadows behind each column, and reflected little specks back from the ripples on the flowing water. Her footsteps echoed very softly from the walls and ceiling, and there was a faint breeze against her. She wondered where the breeze came from. Gradually the marker in front of Murasaki's plaque became visible in the gloom.  
She put the pillow down, reached out and put her hand on Murasaki's tag.  
"Ouch!" Kumiko decided it did indeed hurt, but she clenched her teeth and kept it there.  
"What do you want?"  
"I want Murasaki's Day of Flight to be delayed enough so that he has time to recover from his tsumitsuki!"  
"You can have decades of life in Guri. Are you willing to give all of that away?"  
"Yes!"  
"Then it will be so."  
With that, Kumiko jerked her hand away, and sat heavily on the floor.  
"Thank you Rakka for the cushion." she said as she collapsed further and lay on the floor, head on the cushion.

"It's done." said a voice in Kaori's head.  
Kaori jumped. "Did you hear that?"  
"No, what?"  
"It's done. Let's get her."

Kumiko might have been a slim young teenage girl, but still she was a heavy burden to two ladies encased in heavy protective suits. Kaori was so glad she had kept up with her weight lifting; she was now stronger than she had ever been. Not that that was all that strong, but still it made a difference. Kaori and Yoshe, between the two of them, struggled as they carried Kumiko up the stairs. At the landing with the suits, they were glad to get rid of them. They just left them lying on the ground.  
"Let the Renmei clean up after us!" said Yoshe.  
"Fine by me!" said Kaori.  
The final flight of stairs felt the steepest and longest. They got to the top and staggered out into the temple gardens.  
"Aargh, don't drop her! And don't lose the cushion!" said Yoshe.  
"I'm trying, I'm not a weight lifting champion, you know!" said Kaori.  
"So I can see, I'm carrying a lot more than my share of her weight!"  
"Well, all of those sweets you ate must have built up some muscle, or something!"  
By now, they were passing the Communicator, sitting at his pagoda. Still without his mask, he had vertical frown lines on his face, just like Rakka had. The ladies took a brief look at him, and continued past.  
"To think the first time I came here I was all apprehensive and nervous about what he might think!" said Kaori.  
Both Kaori and Yoshe were now beginning to pant with the exertion.  
"Just shut up and save your breath, we're almost there." said Yoshe.

"Finally" said Yoshe. They had managed to gently lower Kumiko, who was barely conscious, onto the prepared bed in a meeting room in the temple.  
Yoshe sat next to the bed and held Kumiko's hand, while Kaori prepared the medicine. Yoshe held up Kumiko's head and Kaori gently coaxed her to drink some.  
"It's horrible!" said Kumiko.  
"Well, if you can say that, then maybe it's doing its job." said Yoshe. "So keep drinking."

It was now coming up to night time. The Renmei, who were back in action, decided to supply sufficient bedding and food, and let the haibane stay the night. Most had to share a mattress with someone else, but they managed to have a reasonably restful night. And this time there were no wild and panicky talk. The explanations had mostly, if not completely, satisfied them, and the fact that Murasaki's halo had stopped its blinking was also comforting.

The next morning dawned. The air was crisp and cool, it was still winter. Yoshe had slept in the room with Kumiko, while all the others had slept in another of the temple's meeting rooms. Tori and Rakka came in, in normal clothes, bearing trays with breakfast. Both Yoshe and Kumiko arrived, with Kumiko looking remarkably improved. Both Kaori and Yoshe still looked a little worse for wear, but then they were no longer teenagers.  
"Let's see your wings!" said Kumiko to Murasaki.  
"Hmm, actually I think the black has definitely receded, don't you all think?"  
Everyone else agreed. They all looked at Komai's and Daiani's wings, and didn't say anything. They looked the same as before. And everyone pretended not to notice that Amo's wings were looking worse. At least there were no more blinking halos.

Wait, there was a blinking halo.  
Minato's.  
Collective sigh of relief.  
"Does this mean I finally get to go?" Minato said.  
"Well, does it?" asked Rakka.  
Minato looked upwards at the ceiling. "Yes, I think it does."

This time they took no chances. Everyone from Leyton House walked out with Minato. They followed her lead, with Rakka and Kaori close behind her, and the others trailing, all the way until they could see the stepping stones of the haibane ruins, and the Wall towering in the near distance.  
Minato, her halo flashing happily, managed to concentrate back to Guri, and turned and waved to Kaori and Rakka, and the others. She then turned and walked to the stepping stones, stood on the top, raised her arms and looked up.  
Everyone else had to shade their eyes from the glare coming from the direction of the steps. Looking up was easier, they could see the column of light, foreshortened by their proximity, racing upwards, and the small arcs splitting from the main column and curving back again.

When it was over they stood there for a while. Finally Kaori and Rakka, arm in arm, lead the others back to Leyton house. Kumiko was back to wearing her shawl, to hide her face in case any haibane might see them. Back at Leyton House they spent the day doing not much at all. Everyone pretended not to notice the black spots on the wings of Komai, Daiani and Amo. They kept together, they felt like having company. Ukimi and Kaori prepared the meals, and Ukimi went overboard with the sweets.  
"Have another slice of cheesecake, Yoshe" said Kaori.  
"Sorry, I'm full." She hadn't actually eaten all that much, she was worrying about Kumiko.  
Kaori briefly held Yoshe's shoulder, and then went down the table offering it to the others.  
That night they all retired early, and again there was no wild talking.  
Murasaki, in particular, was satisfied. He had seen Minato come back to being a haibane, and then definitely achieve her Day of Flight. The explanations all made sense, to him at least. He slept soundly. And in the morning his wings were clear. And at breakfast his halo started flashing.

Again they took no chances. It was a repeat of yesterday. On their way home Kaori turned to Yoshe and said.  
"Looks like the Wall is taking no chances either. It's getting them through as fast as possible."  
Yoshe agreed.

Later that day the Renmei were having their own de-briefing.  
"Sir, why is the Wall pushing the pace so much? If Kumiko's and Murasaki's deadlines had been extended for a while, then there would have been no need for this last bit of drama."  
"I don't know." said the Communicator, holding his hands out, palms up. "Maybe the Wall likes the results? Or maybe the powers that be have their own goals they are aiming for?"

Ukimi sought out a private audience with Kaori.  
"I need to tell you, I have decided to voluntarily give up my Day of Flight. I can help out as a Renmei for a while, and then I want to become a Toga and explore the outside world. And since I get my Day of Flight anyway, I feel there is no longer anything holding me back on this."  
Kaori looked at Ukimi, her very own haibane, the most sensible and even tempered one at Leyton House, the one most likely to achieve a successful Day of Flight. She started to giggle, which turned into almost hysterical laughter.  
"The best haibane, the very best, is voluntarily giving up her Day, while we are sweating blood getting all the others across the line."  
Kaori put her arms around Ukimi. "Mind you, I'm not complaining. It's your choice, and maybe you will be able to pay me visits back here in Guri over the years. There is that advantage. It just takes some getting used to."  
"Well, it won't be until the current crisis is over, but I will be informing the Communicator the next chance I have. And in the meanwhile, we need to go and get tea ready."

At tea it was obvious; Amo's wings were getting worse. Daiani and Komai were stable, but not Amo. And Amo looked worse.  
"I'm not sleeping at nights. I keep seeing my dead baby; I keep thinking that maybe I caused his death. Maybe I don't deserve a Day of Flight." she said, sitting at the table in front of a plate of food which only had a very small amount taken.  
"I don't believe it. Of course you deserve your Day of Flight." said Kaori, sitting next to Amo and doing her best to cheer her up.  
And as they sat at the table finishing their meals, Daiani's and Komai's halos blinked, once.  
"Can't the ******* Wall wait a bit?" said Yoshe in pure exasperation. "Given some time and they could clear it up all by themselves."  
It was resolved that yet another trip to the temple was due.

This time there was no panicking. But they were worried. The Communicator, and Rakka and Tori, were present, again without masks.  
"It is unfortunate that we are not being given any time to let this resolve itself. Both Daiani and Komai are Love-Bound to each other, and Sin-Bound because of the recent crisis."  
"But Murasaki was able to overcome his tsumitsuki in a short period of time!" said Daiani.  
"He was, but maybe that was because he had the positive influence of Kumiko's sacrifice for him. Also, perhaps you two are reinforcing each other's problems, just because you are emotionally tied to each other so much."  
And as the Communicator spoke, their halos blinked again.  
The Communicator ran his hand through his thinning hair. "Looks like there is no respite, we have to act soon; otherwise you will be stuck here like Kumiko."  
Both Daiani and Komai protested at that.  
The Communicator slumped a little, and then straightened. He was going to ask another big favor of someone.  
"Can I speak to Yoshe and Kumiko privately, please? The others can wait in the meeting room again."

As the Communicator explained to Yoshe: "It appears that we will be allowed to really bend the rules this time. You still pay a price, a big price, but it is sort of what you want anyway."

This time it was only Kaori and Yoshe going down to the tunnel under the Wall. Kaori suited up but Yoshe went unprotected. They paddled the boat to the correct landing, and Kaori waited while Yoshe went ahead to Komai's and Daiani's plaques.  
"Just as well they are right next to each other." she said to herself. "To think I actually looked forward to the first visit we paid down here. Is Hana listening, I wonder?"  
It hurt, as usual. She made her request, and was granted, with a warning, as usual. She started staggering back to the landing and was met by Kaori.  
"It looks like the Wall is making it a habit to talk to me now. It told me when to come to get you."  
"Are you on first name terms, yet?" asked Yoshe.

Kaori supported Yoshe as they both made their way, like two decrepit invalids who are only upright because they are leaning against each other, to the room where the Wall sickness medicine was waiting. They were met half way by Kumiko. She was suffering somewhat by the Wall induced sickness, but she was going to help Yoshe regardless.

Overnight Daiani's and Komai's wings cleared. The following day they were gone, safely carried away by their Day of Flight. And both Yoshe and Kumiko had severely limited life spans. Not straight away, they still had some time remaining. But certainly within a year.


	12. Chapter 12, Departure

There were now only Kaori and Ukimi, Yoshe and Kumiko and Amo left. Amo's wings were by now pitch black.  
Amo completely ignored the Communicator. She knelt in front of Kaori, clutched the hem of her dress and begged  
"Please judge me, please find out the truth. I keep having ghastly nightmares where I am responsible for my baby's death, but I don't know for sure. Judge me and tell me if I'm good or bad."  
"But I don't have any way of getting reliable information about what happened at the end of your past life." said Kaori.  
"Then make the Communicator give you the information, or make the Wall, or something. You must do this!"  
"Ok, I will. But you must let Ukimi and Kumiko look after you tonight."  
The Communicator, who was present but ignored, nodded at Kaori and Ukimi, and left the room. The two ladies followed.

"Right, don't tell me. We're going to bend the rules again, and all get Wall sickness, and it's my turn this time, isn't it?" said Kaori.  
"My apologies. If it is any comfort, the price I will be paying this time will be just as big as yours."  
"I'll believe it when I see the results. What do I have to do?" said Kaori.  
The Communicator explained.  
"Does this means I am going to have to help you back up, even though I am still suffering?" said Yoshe.  
"We all get lucky, don't we?" said Kaori.

As they were entering the door to the tunnel, Kaori said, loud enough for the Communicator and the other Renmei to hear  
"Trust a bunch of men to get a couple of ladies to clean up their mess!"  
"Well, give them due regards, not all of them are men."  
"The ones in control are!"

Since it appeared that the Wall was only talking to Kaori, they decided that Yoshe would follow Kaori and keep her in view while Kaori made her request.  
Touching Amo's plaque hurt, as usual. Kaori got her request; the ability to access Amo's last memories to decide what had happened, and the ability to truly judge Amo. The next bit wasn't as usual.  
She had always been a judgmental person. She had always judged others according to her own standards. It was only with the advent of Ukimi entering her life that she had learnt that her standards were one sided and harsh, she had always lacked understanding, she had always been self centred and sometimes just outright selfish. Ukimi had saved her from continuing down that path. Ukimi had turned her into a better person, and allowed her to, sometimes, judge herself and see herself as others might see her.  
The Wall granted her the ability to judge Amo. The Wall granted her the ability to judge anyone, human or haibane. The Wall granted this ability, but at a price. Every time she judged someone, she also simultaneously judged herself. Right now her new judgement abilities were locked to full on, waiting to judge Amo. She couldn't turn it off. And she was withering under the onslaught of her own judgement of herself.  
She sank to her knees and waved her hands around, as if to try to push away the memories.  
"Oh my God!" She remembered the scene in the library where she had kicked over a pile of books because she hadn't gotten a job.  
She cringed, with a blush that felt like someone was waving a blowtorch in her face, at the memory of dinging Rakka's halo in the thrift shop.  
The time she socially cut down a social acquaintance because her husband had died and she could no longer afford to visit expensive restaurants.  
"Aargh" The gossip and careless insinuations and character assassinations.  
But saving her from sinking completely under this siege of negative judgements were the positive ones. Even before Ukimi she had done good deeds. And, of course, there was all her efforts looking after Ukimi, and subsequently the other haibane.  
Kaori was one her hands and knees now. She shakily got to her feet, just in time to meet Yoshe who was rushing up to help her.  
Yoshe got to within arm's reach, and then she was hit with the judgemental stare.  
"What are you doing, turn it off!"  
"I can't! It's on full power until I have judged Amo."  
"Hell! You're going to do this to a little girl!  
"It's what she asked for!"  
Fortunately, Yoshe had far less in her life that required a harsh judgement, and she had lived longer and so had accumulated a lot more to the good. So she wasn't as incapacitated as Kaori was.

Like two almost mortally wounded soldiers, they dragged each other up the stairs. Yoshe removed the protective suit and left it lying where she had dropped it. They got to the top and lurched their way through the temple garden. The first person they encountered was Rakka.  
She flinched under the judgmental glare from Kaori.  
Kaori looked at Rakka. "As I would have thought, you're sweet. You have nothing to worry about."  
They passed the Communicator, still without his mask, sitting in his usual location.  
Kaori glared at him, really glared this time, for a long minute.  
The Communicator writhed under the stare. Kaori finally relented and moved on a few metres, then sat heavily on the ground.  
"Damn! Damn! The Communicator may have his faults, but I can't fault him on his actions to us and the haibane. He has been doing the best that he can, with what he had at hand, to help the haibane achieve their Day of Flights. Damn! I can't blame him for anything!"  
"Come on! Get this judgement over so I can relax myself!" said Yoshe.  
"We can have it right here. If you move back behind me you should be alright."  
With great relief Yoshe did just that. The continual judgmental glare faded to the feeling of a mild rebuke. The other Renmei present had also gathered behind Kaori.  
"Communicator! Get the haibane out here and don't take too long, this is killing me! Put Amo in front and the rest behind me."

The other haibane gathered behind, while Ukimi supported Amo. Kaori was staring at the ground at the moment, but still Amo could feel the power from Kaori. Her legs felt weak, she wobbled like a little kid riding a bicycle for the first time. Ukimi steered her to the front of Kaori, and they both knelt down. Ukimi was also feeling the power; fortunately in her case it was moderately uncomfortable. She decided that she had better stay right where she was and support Amo, otherwise Amo might just collapse completely.

Kaori looked up at Amo. Amo sagged but was supported by Ukimi. She vomited a little from the stress, stuff dripping off Ukimi's sleeve. Ukimi, unyielding, hung on and kept Amo upright.  
"Wall, show us what we need to know" said Kaori.  
The Wall obliged. The lightening in the surrounding area dimmed and became dark, the temperature dropped. In the darkness appeared the image of Amo, as a young teenager. She was dressed in worn and dirty clothes, she looked malnourished. She was trying to feed a small baby without much success. The baby was wailing, a thin irritating wail, a cry of a weak and sickly baby. There was a man pacing back and forward across the room, his features were indistinct and blurry. Only Amo and her baby were clear.  
Kaori let the sad and sordid tale unfold, and as she did she read Amo's soul. Amo watched the original version of herself cradle her baby, and what happened next. She felt like her heart was being frozen, piece by piece, and the pieces yanked out and scattered beyond her reach.  
Finally Kaori called an end to it. She relaxed her judgmental stare and flopped to the ground.  
"Oh, my God, it is so nice to turn that off."  
Amo likewise sagged and Ukimi let her carefully down so she was lying on the ground.  
Kaori crawled over, put her arms around Amo and together they lay there.  
"It's all right. Just as I thought, it wasn't your fault. I could read your heart; you were trying to the very end to protect your baby."  
Amo sniffled and held onto Kaori.  
Ukimi sat next to Kaori and patted her shoulder.  
Yoshe and Kumiko joined them.  
After a while, when everyone had regained some of their composure, Yoshe said,  
"Not meaning to criticise you or anything, but wasn't all of that judgmental stuff a bit of overkill? Merely showing the images would have been sufficient."  
"Well, maybe it wouldn't have been painful enough? The Wall certainly believes in everyone paying a price. Painfully." said Kaori.

The Renmei took over and looked after everyone. And early the following morning two of the Renmei accompanied Amo as she walked out to her Day of Flight. The others, apart for Ukimi, were too weak cope with the extra exercise.

After watching Amo's departure from the top of the temple, they went back down to the Communicator's pagoda.

The wall had spoken directly to Kaori, telling her of Amo's departure. With that, Kaori felt confident enough to ask the Communicator a question.  
"I think that it is time we were both on first name terms."  
"Fine, my name, the one I was granted at my hatching, is Kawamachi, river village."

He discussed with them what the next step was. The ladies consulted with each other, and Yoshe wrote down some requirements, which a Renmei delivered to the thrift shop guy. Later that day he appeared. He had driven his delivery van as close as possible to the temple, and walked the rest of the way in. He carried a parcel, which he gave to Yoshe. She opened the parcel and made some requests:  
"Kaori, if you can take these yellow roses and thread them together to make a head band. Don't forget to trim off the thorns!"  
"Kumiko put this light grey shawl across your shoulders."  
"Ukimi, this dress from the parcel, I think it needs to be taken in a little. He did a reasonable job in matching my description of the dress I wore the day I met Kumiko."  
When they were ready, Yoshe took the head band of roses and carefully pinned them to Kumiko's head.  
Ukimi helped the others walk out of the temple, across the suspension bridge and to the delivery vehicle. Yoshe made Kumiko sit in the passenger seat, and she and Kaori rode in the back.

The thrift shop guy drove his vehicle as close as possible to the Day of Flight steps, and then Kaori helped Yoshe and Kumiko the rest of the way. Kaori walked back a safe distance, then sat down and waited. Yoshe and Kumiko walked to the steps. They had to climb them on their hands and knees, they were so weak. Yoshe sat down on the top, and Kumiko leant back into Yoshe's lap. Yoshe cradled Kumiko, just like the first time they met. Kumiko's yellow roses head band glowed softly in the light of the now setting sun, her grey shawl across her shoulders. They looked into each other's eyes, and then Yoshe looked up at the Wall in the near distance.  
"Ok, Wall, here's the deal. We go right now, and in return Kaori gets back a full and long life. That good enough?"  
Yoshe and Kumiko both looked up. The light was getting brighter. Much brighter.

Kaori shielded her eyes from the glare. When it was all over there was nothing left on the steps and swirling around in the air were a few grey pieces of shawl.  
"Human Yoshe and blessed haibane Kumiko have departed on their Day of Flight." said the Wall, direct to her mind.  
"Yoshe has also gone on a Day of Flight?"  
The Wall decided, given the circumstances, it could give a little in return.  
"Kaori, understand this. The Day of Flight, and subsequent judgement, comes to all haibane and humans equally. Everyone, without exception. The light show is just for haibane."  
"Oh"

She got up and walked back to the delivery van. She now felt fine.

They drove back to the temple path, were Ukimi was waiting. Arm in arm, Ukimi and Kaori walked back to Leyton House.

Three days passed. The Communicator and the other Renmei were busy. They sent various messages to the other nests with truthful, but not the full truth, explanations on what had been happening, and suggesting that they don't visit yet. They got some of the Renmei who lived in the town as humans to construct a cover story to explain the disappearance of Yoshe. The story was that she was retiring and living at the other end of the farming districts, and in half a year's time she was going to die peacefully in her sleep. Perhaps from grief over her husband dying and her haibane friends going on their Day of Flights. Since these town Renmei had not taken the vow of service to the Wall, they could lie. A bit.  
Meanwhile Kaori and Ukimi stayed in Leyton House and worked at re-building the routine of a normal life. A Renmei would visit daily. Unbeknownst to the general population, this was Rakka.  
On day four the first visitors were allowed.  
"Hello ladies" said Matsu. "I'm really sorry to do this, I know it must be hard, but the Communicator has requested..."  
They were standing in the front hall, in front of the notice board. Kaori and Ukimi were on one side, and watched as Matsu removed all but the original two name tags. Also present were the twins from Old Home, and Michibi from the Abandoned Factory.  
"Well, that's the way it is, I suppose." said Kaori.  
"It must be tough when it all happened at once." said Matsu.  
"You don't know the half of it." said Kaori.  
"A blessed haibane has just arrived at the top floor of Leyton House." said the Wall, straight to Kaori's mind.  
"Hmm. Could You please follow me, I would like to check the top floor."  
Kaori turned and started towards the stairs. The haibane looked at each other and shook their heads, except Ukimi. Matsu shrugged and said  
"We might as well go with her."  
By the time they caught up with Kaori, she was already looking through an open door, at the tiny cocoon with its two tiny initial leaves, in the middle of the room.  
Ukimi smiled at the other haibane. "Now who're the silly ones, heh?"

Two more cocoons were announced and found in the following month. A couple of days before the first cocoon was due to hatch, Ukimi had a discussion with Kaori.  
"I think it is best if the new arrivals never meet me, since I will have to go soon anyway. So I'm going to the temple and do my own trip down to my plaque in the tunnel and become a Renmei. But of course, you can visit anytime, at least until I finally become a Toga."  
Kaori dabbed the corners of her eyes.  
"It has been so nice having you here. But children grow up and leave the nest, one way or another."  
They were silent for a while.  
"Incidentally, the Communicator has informed me that, while you get the cocoon messages for all nests and the Day of Flight messages, the Communicator and Rakka only get the Day of Flight messages. Pretty neat, isn't it?"  
"Yes! No little demure Kaori ever again!"

The human population had collectively scratched its head in puzzlement when the Communicator announced, after a month or so, that from now on Kaori was also going to be presiding in court on all cases of violence and all cases involving haibane.  
"What the hell is he up to?"  
"Kaori? Never much good for anything, although she does seem to be successful at running a haibane nest."  
The questions and mutterings vanished very rapidly after the first few court cases. The only question remaining was -  
"What on Guri did Kaori do to be granted such power?"

Several years later:

"Ok, children, young adults, if you could listen for a moment." said Kaori to the breakfast assembly of haibane.  
They became silent. When mother Kaori made a direct request, not even the most rambunctious haibane dared to dissent.  
"I'm doing a court case today, so if one of the older haibane could volunteer to stay home and look after the children, please?"  
The oldest, a teenage girl, said "I can get time off work, so I'll do it."  
"Very good."  
"Are you going over to the Factory and sort them out, yet again?" said the oldest teenage boy. He had been the subject of a few Leyton House court sessions himself, so he was happy to see someone else suffer instead.  
"No. This time it is a lot more serious, I'm going to the human court. Two humans had a big fight and damaged each other; we need to work out what to do about it all."  
"Oh" said the boy. He really didn't want to imagine being the recipient of judge Kaori's stare at full power. It would probably melt his halo off and give him intensive-care-unit grade sun burn.

The Communicator stood, impassive behind his mask and full Renmei costume, looking over the court. Kaori, in her ordinary everyday dress and sensible shoes, sat on a plain chair a little in front of and facing the witness stand. The preliminaries having been dealt with, the judge called up the first defendant. The two watch men walked him over to the witness stand, sat him down, and then stood on either side of him. It was noticeable that they moved apart and left quite a bit of room between them and the defendant. The defendant had never been judged by Kaori before, but he had heard the stories. He was sweating, his face was pale, and he stared at Kaori like a mouse staring at a cat.  
Kaori switched on her judgemental glare. As always, it reflected right back at her, but she was getting used to it. She glared at the defendant, who had gasped and pushed himself as far back on his chair as possible.  
"Why did you get into that fight?" asked Kaori, in a voice that was stern and just a little harsh. Getting the reflected judgement always made her feel irritated and annoyed.  
To the defendant, it felt that each word was a nail, being hammered into his psyche.  
"Because he is always ridiculing my work and teasing me about my love life..."  
"Do you want to hurt other people too?"  
"No, no one else annoys me like he does."  
Kaori relaxed and the man slumped and almost fell off his chair.

To the other defendant: "Why did you get into that fight?"  
"Because I just can't stand the way he reacts whenever I deal with him."  
"Do you want to hurt other people too?"  
"Not particularly, he's the only one that sets me off."

Kaori had a small private discussion with the judge and the Communicator, then both defendants were called back, and the main judge spoke.  
"It is the opinion of this court that neither of you are fully to blame, but neither of you are completely innocent. The court orders that you avoid each other's company for the next two years, in the hope that you will in that time acquire some sense. You will also do half a year's community service, one day each weekend. We shall work out the details as soon as judge Kaori and the Communicator depart."

Kaori and the Communicator, equals in power in Guri, left the courtroom. This was the price that the Communicator had to pay. Being an equal to Kaori.

They walked back towards both Leyton House and the temple.  
"Kaori, before I forget, the Toga are back in town, and Ukimi came with them. She's at the temple now."  
"Oh, good, thanks Kawamachi. My little nest can take care of itself for a while, so I'll accompany you back and say hello."  
The Communicator gave just the tiniest wince at the usage of his name instead of his title. But then, he supposed, it was good for his character to be reminded every so often who he really was.

"Ukimi!"  
"Kaori!"  
After the initial hugs were over, they settled into a catch up talk session. Kaori had to do most of the talking, since Ukimi was forbidden to say all that much about her life outside of the Walls of Guri.  
"There is one thing the Wall has allowed to tell you however. I have married and I now have a daughter. Unfortunately the Wall forbids me from saying anything more."  
"A daughter! That makes her my granddaughter! How delightful!"  
"But, wait, I thought haibane were not able to have children?" continued Kaori.  
"Ahh, but I'm no longer a haibane, am I? Haven't you realised, once you look past the initial, common place knowledge of life in Guri, that it all gets more complicated the more you know?"  
"Yeah, I've noticed."

Ten years after the crisis:

Kaori had paid a visit to the temple with one of her charges. After the young haibane had a short chat to the Communicator and was given his next Renmei account book, he was sent back to the nest by himself.  
"Kaori, I have an announcement. I'm retiring, and will soon go on my own very long delayed Day of Flight."  
Kaori looked at him. An old man, who had spent decades sitting at this pagoda, watching the haibane come and grow and depart on their Day of Flights.  
"Well, I would like to say, in spite of the differences we have had, I believe you truly deserve your blessing. I wish you luck."  
"Thank you. It has certainly been an interesting decade. I wish to thank you for your help in blessing our haibane."

Two weeks later, Rakka sat in the Communicator's pagoda, in full Communicator's costume except for the mask. In front of her was Kaori.  
"So, Rakka, the messy haired chick, is now the Communicator." said Kaori.  
"And you, that annoying fan girl, is still Judge Kaori." said Rakka.  
"How long will each of us last for? I feel I can go for quite a long way." said Kaori  
"So can I. We're both still young."  
"Hmm. One day we won't be. Who knows, maybe we will get tired at the same time..."

The decades passed. Haibane hatched, mastered their trails, and departed. A few stayed behind for various reasons, and a couple of Renmei went on their much delayed Day of Flights. Ukimi visited every so often. Everyone grew older.

And Rakka and Kaori, equals in power, jointly ruled the haibane and humans of Guri.

One day: "Grandmother Kaori! There's a notice here from the temple asking you to visit them." yelled out one of the younger haibane.  
"There's no need to shout, young man." Actually there was, her hearing wasn't as acute as it was once. "Ok, I'll go after lunch."  
There was no need to arrange any replacement help, Kaori had long ago given up the day to day running of Leyton House. She resided over the occupants like a regal monarch, making sure the standards were kept, presiding over the judgement sessions, both for the haibane and the humans, announcing whenever a new haibane had arrived at one of the nests, and enjoying the company of the youngsters.  
She grabbed her walking cane and walked along the path to the temple, its every twist and turn engraved into her memory. The Renmei at the front door courteously accompanied her to the dining room, where Rakka was waiting with an unknown Toga. Both had their face masks off. The Toga looked to be middle aged, and to Kaori she looked like someone she had seen before, but she couldn't work out whom.  
The Toga looked at Ukimi and looked serious.  
"I have sad news for you. My mother, Ukimi, passed away last year. She had a short illness and was coherent up until almost the very end. The Wall kindly let me convey this news to you."  
"Oh" Kaori looked at the ground. After a while she composed her emotions. "Thank you for telling me that. So that's why you looked familiar."  
"Yes. I can't say much more, but when I was young Mother would tell me all the stories about life here when she was a haibane. I'm just wondering, if you could do me the favour, of recounting some of the stories from your perspective? I've always wanted to meet you for a talk."  
"Of course. Rakka can stay and contribute. By the way, what is your name?"  
"Kaori, of course."

After several hours.  
"Thank you so much. This is such a highlight of my life, to finally meet you and hear about the times when mum was a girl. I need to go now, and rejoin my Toga companions. Tomorrow, after the market, we leave. I will be going to various parts and it is very unlikely that I will ever pass by this place again."  
The younger Kaori was gone. The older Kaori, feeling much older all of a sudden, looked at Rakka.  
"I'm tired; I think it is a good time for me to go, also." Rakka knew that she wasn't talking about being sleepy.  
"You know, it is a good time to go for me too. Can you hang on for another month or so, while I transfer the duties over to the next Communicator?"  
"I'll manage."

The thrift shop guy drove them as close as possible to the stepping stones. They got out and walked the remaining distance, Kaori using her cane. They got to the stones themselves.  
"I don't think I have the balance any longer to stand at the top of that and reach to the sky." said Kaori.  
"We have bent so many rules, one more doesn't matter. Anyway it isn't really a rule, just a tradition."  
They sat on the top stone, facing the Wall, swinging their legs over the side, arms around each other.  
"About fifty years ago we first met." said Kaori.  
"Yeah. A lot has happened since then."  
Kaori tilted her head slightly. "Do I hear voices?"  
"Well, you do realise that we have made an awful lot of friends here in Guri? They're getting impatient. For most of them it's been a long long wait. It's time to go."  
Rakka raised her free hand to shoulder height and casually waved it.  
They both looked up as the light got brighter, and the voices louder.


	13. Chapter 13, The End

_I was there when they first met, and I was there when they left._

 _I returned to my quarters and worked on this story. How is the new Communicator going? Who will be the new Judge? I don't know. Frankly I don't care any longer. My meals are brought to my door every day and I keep to myself. It's been so long since I arrived in Guri. I can feel my Day of Flight calling. I have now finished the writing. Tomorrow I go out by myself to the stepping stones. I can hardly wait..._

 _Signed_

 _The Thrift Shop Guy._


End file.
